Union Railway Minister, Suresh Prabhu presented the Rail Budget for 2016-17 in the Lok Sabha on Thursday. While no hike in rail fares has already brought a smile to many faces, the Minister also made some striking tech related announcements which in reality could uplift the face of Indian railways. Here are six such announcements that he made in the lower house of the Parliament today vis-Ã -vis the Railway Budget 2016-17: 1. GPS based display: The Ministry plans to install GPS based 20,000 displays across 2,000 stations. This will not only keep the passengers informed of the upcoming stations but also help the government to keep a track of trains through GPS technology. If implemented, travelers may expect less delay in trains as the government will have their eyes on every train. 2. Radio Stations: The Minister has invited radio stations to offer entertainment services through the railway's personal address system on stations. The Ministry also plans to have FM radio stations for trains as well. 3. Wi-Fi: Life turns meaningless once we run out of internet connectivity and it happens mostly when we travel. The Railway Ministry plans to set up free Wi-Fi services in as many as 100 stations across the country by the end of this year. The department along with tech giant Google has already enabled Wi-Fi at Mumbai Central with plans to install it in nearly 400 stations by next year. 4. Clean my coach service: Keeping cleanliness in view, the Ministry has unveiled a new SMS service through which passengers can ask for cleaning their coaches. Passengers will just have to drop an SMS with their PNR number at 58888 and the cleaning staff will attend to them at the next station. 5. Increase in ticketing capacity: The Ministry will increase online booking capacity of tickets to 7,200 per minute. Currently, 2,000 tickets can be booked in a minute. 6. Automated ticket vending machines: The Ministry has also proposed to install 1,780 automated ticket vending machines to handle the length lines at ticket counters. The Minister also announced provision for bar-coded tickets to keep a check on ticketless travelers.
Railway Budget 2016: 6 tech related announcements you must know
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Month of Issue:
February
Year of Issue:
2 016
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http://indiatoday.intoday.in/technology/story/railway-budget-2016-6-tech-related-announcements-you-must-know/1/605228.html
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New Delhi
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India Today
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National
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