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TECH TONIC: Indian railways will implement modern communications systems, said Lalu.

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New Delhi: The Indian railway system, in a bid to become more people-friendly, will be implementing modern communications systems such as the global information system (GIS), global positioning system (GPS) and radio frequency identification (RFID), Railway Minister Lalu Prasad said while presenting the Railway Budget 2008-09 in the Lok Sabha on Tuesday.

Several measures like these were announced as part of the Information Technology Vision 2012 for the railways.

"For getting maximum benefit in the coming years, the mantra for present and future IT applications would be seamless integration," Lalu said.

"The railways nationwide communication infrastructure will provide the foundation for a common delivery network and platform. Modern technologies like GIS, GPS and RFID will be applied progressively," he added.

"A centralised information system will not only be useful for the customers but also for the organisation as well."

Implementation of this system would enable the passengers to have fast and accurate information on a host of issues such as reservation status, train timings and availability of routes among others.

"For the customer it would result in superior experience with improvements in overall efficiency, safety of railway operations, ease of transactions and value added services like infotainment, on board television and knowledge kiosks with Internet facilities," Lalu Prasad said.

The Information Technology Vision 2012 would be implemented over the next five years.