ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Rail­ways on Thursday signed an agre­ement with a Chinese company to implement its project about enhanced customer facilitation by using an artificial intelligence-based approach.

Norinco (China North Industries Group Corporation) will execute the project on build, operate and transfer (BOT) mode in 10 years.

Speaking on the occasion, Chairman of the Ministry of Railways Habibur Rehman Gilani said the Chinese company would implement the project while the Railways would spent nothing.

Pakistan Railways will get a fair share in ticket price, freight and value-added services, and it is the largest IT-based project under the public-private partnership mode in Pakistan.

The agreement is under the umbrella of Railway Automated Booking and Travel Assistance (Rabta) initiative introduced by the ministry of railways to enhance the efficiency of Pakistan Railways by introducing information technology.

The partnership agreement was signed by Azam Ghafoor, the Director of Information Technology, Pakistan Railways, and Zhidan Wu from China’s Norinco/Easyway.

Rather than having to locate, book, and pay for each mode of transportation separately, Rabta platform will let customers plan and book door-to-door journeys using a single interface. Customers can check train status, choose seats, purchase tickets, order car rental, meals and refreshments, as well as book a hotel.

Published in Dawn, November 12th, 2021