Indian Railways Goes Multilingual: BHASHINI and CRIS Join Hands to Deploy AI-Powered Language Solutions

New Delhi: In a major stride towards inclusive digital transformation, the Digital India Bhashini Division (DIBD) and the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) signed a landmark Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) today, paving the way for the integration of advanced multilingual artificial intelligence solutions across key passenger-facing platforms of Indian Railways.

The MoU was formally signed by Amitabh Nag, CEO of BHASHINI, and G.V.L. Satya Kumar, Managing Director of CRIS, during a ceremony held in New Delhi.

This strategic partnership aims to embed BHASHINI’s cutting-edge language technology stack—which includes Automatic Speech Recognition (ASR), Text-to-Text Translation, Text-to-Speech (TTS), and Optical Character Recognition (OCR)—into widely used railway systems such as the National Train Enquiry System (NTES) and RailMadad. The integration will empower citizens to access essential railway services in 22 Indian languages, bridging linguistic gaps and promoting equitable access.

“This collaboration will transform how millions of passengers engage with railway services on a daily basis,” said Amitabh Nag. “Through BHASHINI’s AI capabilities, we are ensuring that language is no longer a barrier to accessing vital public services.”

Echoing the sentiment, G.V.L. Satya Kumar stated, “CRIS is proud to partner with BHASHINI to implement inclusive, AI-powered solutions across our digital platforms. This initiative will enhance accessibility, transparency, and user experience for railway passengers across the country.”

Beyond basic integration, the partnership will drive the development of multilingual chatbots and voice assistants to support passengers, design over-the-counter enquiry systems in multiple languages, and roll out speech-enabled digital interfaces across websites, mobile apps, kiosks, and helplines. These efforts will be supported by a hybrid deployment model using both cloud and on-premise infrastructure.

A series of technical workshops, pilot projects, and phased rollouts are expected to commence soon, laying the groundwork for full-scale deployment in the near future.