New Delhi: The world''s third largest rail network, Indian Railways, plans to invest $1.5 billion or Rs 6000 crore over the next five years to upgrade information technology to meet the increasing demand from the passengers and freight businesses.

Indian Railway officials said the organization has invested Rs 1000 crore on IT in the 10th Five year Plan and would invest $1.5 billion over the next five year years at the Nasscom IT User Award event where the Railways has bagged the award for transforming the organisation by using IT to a large extent.

Nasscom President Kiran Karnik said the Indian Railways is an extraordinary example of a turnaround story, and their plans of public private partnerships for IT makes this a challenging and exciting opportunity for IT companies.
Indian Railways is expected to procure IT hardware and software to continue with its modernisation drive.

Some of the major IT initiatives of the Railways are giving hand-held computers to ticket examiners, building cyber cafes at stations, digitising the signalling system and linking all online applications with the computerised reservation system and tracking the passenger and freight trains.