Indian Railways To Revamp Its Reservation System

The Indian Railways' three-decade-old passenger reservation system, formerly regarded as the most stressful part of a train trip, is getting a makeover that could result in the weeding out of "malafide users" who try to game the system by using false identification. 

A person with knowledge of the situation claims that after a Grant Thornton report is made public, work on the PRS reform will begin. IRCTC, a public sector organisation, has hired the advisory firm to research the current system and make improvement recommendations. Since many tickets were reserved for officials, legislators, and others, especially for last-minute travel, the reservation system has been fraught with uncertainty for regular Indians for decades. With the introduction of e-ticketing by the railways in 2005, this improved. However, the new system's popularity also implies that the server might occasionally be overburdened. 

The two main areas of the redesign will be the. One is to increase the PRS's ability to process more transactions efficiently. By adding additional functions, the fundamental application and infrastructure will need to be strengthened. Second, software checks would be added to identify rogue users who exert strain on the system and leverage security gaps to conduct transactions, like bulk blockage of emergency Talkaal tickets. 

At the time of publication, inquiries made to the ministry of railways seeking more information on the suggested adjustments had not received a response. Along with improving the PRS, the redesign will also increase the capacity of the IRCTC website and servers, enabling them to manage more traffic with speedier response times. In 2019–20, there were three times as many reserved tickets ordered online through the website and app as there were counter purchases.