Union Minister for Railways & Coal addresses the Conference organized by CRIS on AI for Innovations in Consumer Experience & Service Delivery.

“Artificial Intelligence (AI) can transform Indian Railways in terms of safety; passenger amenities; better revenues, growth & efficiency,” said Shri Piyush Goyal while addressing the AI Conference in New Delhi today. The Union Minister for Railways and Coal, Shri Piyush Goyal, was speaking at the valedictory session of the Conference organized by the Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS), an Information Technology arm of the Ministry of Railways today. The Minister said Artificial Intelligence is nothing to fear or feel threatened by but to be used for our benefit. Harnessing AI for organizational and social good can yield far-reaching benefits to our country and Indian Railways, the Minister emphasized. “Artificial Intelligence has to be harnessed to find digital innovations for better customer interface and better service delivery. Artificial Intelligence is about creating trains with brains”, Shri Goyal added. The Minister hoped that Indian Railways would benefit from the experiences shared by the experts who participated in the Conference today.

CRIS organized a day-long conference with invigorating technical sessions on Ártificial Intelligence for Customer Experience and Service Delivery innovations. Indian Railways plays a vital role in India’s growth story. The challenge is to improve revenues and enhance customer experience while improving the efficiency and reliability of operations. The speakers discussed how artificial intelligence can help improve customer experience and increase payments.

It was noted that AI can help in route optimization, real-time train movement monitoring, crew fostering, improving the price advantage of rail freight, and improving logistics chain integration. Speakers also highlighted the benefits of using Artificial Intelligence in predictive maintenance to improve asset management, Crowd management, chatbots for consumer interaction in different regional languages, and IoT sensors to detect concerns on tracks and locomotives.

The conference was inaugurated by Shri Ashwani Lohani, Chairman of the Railway Board & Shri Mohd Jamshed, Member of Traffic, Railway Board, senior board members, and Railway officials. The confeConferencedistinguished speakers from the IT Industry.

Speaking on the occasion, Shri Ashwani Lohani, Chairman of the Railway Board, said, “Artificial intelligence has the potential to create an ecosystem that makes the lives of humans more comfortable. In this context we need to explore how these technological developments can be garnered to create a more pleasurable rail travel experience. Future has unlimited possibilities, and Railways being a mass transporter, any effort in this direction will yield big benefits.” CRB added that despite technology, empathy in finding solutions for passenger comfort has to be the driving spirit.

Indian Railways is poised to utilize Artificial Intelligence in multiple ways. Applying Artificial Intelligence tools and techniques can significantly benefit customer experience, process optimization, and asset maintenance.

Artificial intelligence (AI) is the simulation of a human brain function by machines. AI machines can perform human mind activities, such as logical reasoning, learning, and self-correction.

Source: Press Release
Release ID: 1526336
PIB
Ministry of Railways
Date: March 24, 2018