Railways building AI-based integrated security centre, analytics platform

Railways should leverage AI for dynamic freight pricing, suggests Vinod Dham

The Ministry of Railways’ information technology (IT) backbone — the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) — has undertaken two major initiatives to secure the digital infrastructure of Indian Railways and streamline its information and operations systems.

 

These include an integrated Security Operations Centre for Indian Railways (IRSOC) and an enterprise-wide analytics framework, CRIS said in a report marking its 40th Foundation Day.

 

“The implementation of IRSOC will significantly enhance the cybersecurity monitoring capabilities of Indian Railways, leading to a substantial reduction in Mean Time to Detect and Mean Time to Respond through the deployment of advanced security solutions such as Security Information and Event Management (SIEM), Security Orchestration Automation and Response (SOAR), Endpoint Detection and Response (EDR), and Network Detection and Response (NDR),” the report stated.

 

The analytics framework will function by unifying data from various applications into a single Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning (AI/ML)-enabled decision support system.

 

“Indian Railways has initiated the deployment of AI/ML applications across various functional domains, resulting in siloed implementation of multiple high-value use cases. To overcome these silos and drive cohesive digital transformation, CRIS has initiated the process of building an enterprise-wide AI/ML-powered decision support system,” it added. 

 

 

With a data-driven approach leveraging descriptive, diagnostic, predictive, prescriptive, and cognitive analytics, CRIS aims to significantly improve operational efficiency, safety, asset management, and passenger services.

 

Some of the areas where Indian Railways is looking to implement this decision support system include the growth of freight and passenger revenue, increasing market share, and improving profitability. It will also be used to enhance passenger safety and monitor asset performance and inventory levels.

 

Moreover, the ministry has sought the guidance of Vinod Dham — popularly known as the “Father of the Pentium Chip” — who has advised the Railways to incorporate modern technologies such as blockchain-based management of contracts and freight movement to ensure tamper-proof cargo tracking.

 

He also recommended the adoption of data-driven, dynamic passenger and freight pricing models similar to those used in the aviation sector. Such models would incentivise off-peak travel, optimise seat utilisation, and enable customised freight pricing, Dham said.