The Indian Railway is set to make a major overhaul of the ticketing system by replacing the four-decade-old Passenger Reservation System (PRS) with the latest one.
The current PRS was launched in 1986. This system is based on Itanium servers and OpenVMS technology, which is now outdated. The new railway system will be cloud-based.
What is the old PRS system?
The PRS system is a central computer network that connects all railway counters, the IRCTC website, and the app.
The country's 88 per cent train tickets are booked online through this system. This system also manages waiting lists, quotas, Tatkal tickets, and seat availability.
New system to revolutionise ticket booking experience
The effectiveness of the new system could be understood by the fact that it has a capacity to book up to 1,50,000 tickets per minute, against the old system that booked up to 32,000 tickets per minute.
The capacity to check train availability will also increase from 4,00,000 to 40,00,000 per minute. The capacity will be crucial during peak demand times like Diwali, Holi, or summer holidays, and server downtime and booking failures will be eliminated.
Airline-style seat selection
The new system will offer airline-style seat selection. Families or groups can book seats together. A fare calendar will also be available.
Separate integrated facilities will be available for disabled and patient users. The entire interface will be multilingual, with ticket booking available in regional languages, including Hindi.
Passengers would know probability of ticket confirmation
The RailOne app is the mobile interface for the new PRS. It will bring the new system within your reach. This AI-powered app will also tell the passenger whether a waitlisted ticket will be confirmed. Its accuracy has increased from 53 per cent to 94 per cent. Currently, 9.29 lakh tickets are being booked daily through this app.