South Central Railway has upgraded its Bholu AI passenger information system with Yatra, an indigenous railway-specific large language model, and extended the service to five additional stations in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh, according to a report by Deccan Chronicle.
The upgraded system is designed to understand passenger questions in natural language and provide faster, more accurate responses. It also offers interactive and multilingual support, positioning the railway’s artificial intelligence initiative as a new layer of passenger assistance at stations.
Bholu was initially introduced in Mini and Max versions at Kacheguda and Malkajgiri railway stations in May. Following the upgrade, the system has been extended to Kurnool City, Gadwal, Mahbubnagar, Kamareddy and Nizamabad stations.
The addition of Yatra gives Bholu a railway-specific language capability, according to the report. Unlike a general-purpose information interface, the system is intended to respond to passenger enquiries in the context of railway services. The supplied report did not provide details on the specific categories of questions supported, the languages currently available, or the technology architecture used by the system.
The expansion covers stations across different urban and regional settings, including major locations such as Nizamabad and Kurnool City as well as stations serving cities and towns including Gadwal, Mahbubnagar and Kamareddy. For passengers, the system’s stated purpose is to make information access more convenient through conversational interaction rather than relying only on conventional enquiry counters or static notices.
The initiative also reflects the growing use of digital systems in routine railway administration and passenger services. By combining a station-based information assistant with a language model trained for railway use, South Central Railway is placing automated communication alongside existing passenger support channels.
The railway had not, in the supplied report, disclosed passenger usage figures, response accuracy rates, operating hours, staffing arrangements or a timeline for further expansion. It also did not specify whether Bholu would be introduced at additional stations beyond the seven locations currently identified. The immediate expansion comprises the five new stations named by South Central Railway, while Kacheguda and Malkajgiri remain the locations where the system was first introduced.
