User-friendly Enhanced Machine Learning-based Railway Management System for Sri Lanka

Abstract

The railway service is a convenient and low-cost transport method in Sri Lanka, widely employed by both local and foreign passengers. Major railway lines in Sri Lanka cover unique and very different areas in the country. For example, the Northern province's weather and geography conditions significantly differ from Southern or Central provinces. Majority of the tourists lack understanding in identifying appropriate or attractive places that best suits them, close by to the Railway Stations. Therefore, a passenger needs to spend more time identifying their railway tour destinations. When passengers are booking tickets, even though they are able to reserve seats beforehand, they are unable to reserve a specific seat. Also, there is no process to identify the most suitable seat for them amidst many other travelers, especially if they are travelling alone. Considering the aforementioned, authors propose a more innovative and user-friendly system for the Railway Department of Sri Lanka. Depending on various passenger attributes the system is capable of suggesting a travel plan with railway lines which cover most suitable destination suggestions; identifying the best seats with a relaxing atmosphere; providing an interactive chatbot to satisfy user queries on specific location information; and facility for 24×7 user interaction. A travel plan can save passengers time and allows them to identify the desired railway line and relevant attractions without much hassle. And they are saved of an unpleasant experience through the suggestion of the best seating location. Machine Learning and Deep Learning technologies are used in developing the proposed system.