Indian Railways is using an AI-enabled War Room at Rail Bhawan in New Delhi to watch crowds and train movements in real time at major stations during the Diwali and Chhath Puja rush. Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw reviewed the facility on 7 November 2026, as footfall at New Delhi station alone climbed to around 8 lakh passengers a day.

The deployment is one of the largest live uses of AI for public services in India this festive season, and it follows earlier AI and video analytics work on the rail network, such as Sparsh CCTV’s security partnership with Indian Railways in Jammu and Prayagraj.

What does the Indian Railways AI War Room do?

The War Room is a centralised monitoring and coordination centre. It pulls together live CCTV feeds, AI-based systems and real-time operational data so officials can watch platforms, foot-over bridges and station surroundings across many locations at once.

• Live video: officials can view several stations simultaneously and zoom into any single camera feed to examine a specific spot.
• Prompt-based analysis: according to The New Indian Express, the AI tools let officials analyse activities and incidents at a location through prompts, assess developing situations and trigger a response.
• Train tracking: the system tracks train movements and delays, helping teams find the cause of a disruption and correct it to improve punctuality.

The Railway Ministry said the facility is meant to “enhance situational awareness, facilitate timely decision-making and ensure efficient management of railway operations.”

Which stations are being monitored?

Stations under watch include New Delhi, Anand Vihar Terminal, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Secunderabad, SMVT Bengaluru, MGR Chennai Central, Mumbai Central, CSMT Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Varanasi, Gorakhpur, Howrah, Sealdah, Jaipur, Nagpur and Vijayawada, The Indian Express reported. Many of these are origin points for crowds heading to Bihar and other parts of North India for Chhath.

How big is the festive rush this year?

• More than 18,000 special trains this festive season, up from about 12,000 last year.
• Around 700 AI-enabled cameras added to strengthen surveillance and crowd monitoring.
• Dedicated passenger holding areas at about 20 stations, plus separate ticket counters and multiple scanning points.

Vaishnaw said preparations began nearly six months ago, with special attention to the surge expected before Chhath Puja.

Why it matters for AI in public services

Large-crowd events are becoming a proving ground for computer vision in India. AI-assisted surveillance helped manage pilgrims at the Maha Kumbh 2025, and Indian firms are building edge video platforms such as HCLTech’s VisionX 2.0 and police tools like Staqu’s JARVIS.

The Railways War Room goes a step further by letting officials query video and operations data with prompts, a pattern that could spread to metro systems, airports and city command centres. As India prepares its AI governance consultation, how such public-space AI handles privacy and accountability will be closely watched.

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