IRCTC train ticket booking: No more password required, just ask Disha 2.0 to book your berth - how it works

Booking train tickets via IRCTC has become easier and more convenient now. IRCTC has further eased AskDISHA 2.0 -- ChatBot and VoiceBot. It has now been programmed to understand English, Hindi and Hinglish. Passengers who have forgotten their IRCTC password need not worry as they can book tickets with the help of AskDISHA 2.0 using voice commands.

According to IRCTC, more than 60 lakh people used AskDISHA 2.0 during the beta launch and have done transactions worth Rs 20 crores. Alone in August, AskDISHA got around 95 lakh queries which include booking requests, cancellations and more. Around 88 per cent people feedback was positive with 99 per cent accuracy.

The new conversational and convenient feature allows passengers to interact with the system via voice, chat and click-based system. It offers services like booking train tickets, checking PNR status, ticket cancellation, checking refund status and much more. It requires no password instead it works based on the OTP. The technology is powered by human centric conversational AI chatbot platform CoRover. 

Rajini Hasija, CMD, IRCTC said that the improved AskDisha is a constant pursuit to enhance the user experience and leverage new age technologies. Passengers can now book train tickets in a conversational manner with the help of AskDISHA 2.0.

"This is a landmark initiative to enhance passengers' experience with an easy and quick way to book their train tickets. First time, the users can book ticket without knowing their IRCTC password, it will be possible just with an OTP,” she said. 

"We expect at least 25% of our clients to switch to this option," she said, adding that CoRover services add to efforts to improve services by enhancing the usage of emerging technologies like AI, machine learning and others.

Notably, the Indian Railways has been undergoing massive technological changes to provide better services to passengers and make their journey comfortable. The ‘ASK DISHA’ on IRCTC's portal has helped to improve passenger satisfaction and interaction by more than 70%, according to the company.