Amid the morning rush of Bengaluru, a young professional hops on to an electric city bus, bound for the Yellow Line metro. There are no snarls at tolls – the vehicle glides through effortlessly as artificial intelligence (AI)-powered sensors orchestrate the traffic like an invisible conductor, buying him minutes that would have been lost to honks and red lights. At the metro station, he breezes past the turnstiles; a simple QR scan validates his ticket, the screen flashing green with a soft chime. The metro slips into the station with driverless precision, ferrying him towards his office. As he settles into the journey, his phone remains his travel companion – Paytm helps him book an autorickshaw for the last mile, stitching his commute neatly into the city’s growing web of multimodal transport. Hours later, with work wrapped up, he sets course for the Kempegowda International Airport. Aboard his Air India flight to Delhi, high speed in‑flight internet transforms the cabin into a personal lounge, streaming his favourite film on Netflix. By the time he lands, Delhi airport’s virtual information kiosks greet him with real‑time guidance, ensuring his arrival is as seamless as his departure.
These are not isolated sparks of innovation any more – they form the new constellation of India’s transport story. A sector once defined by waiting lines, uncertainty and paperwork is now reimagined through biometrics, predictive analytics, cloud orchestration and green mobility. As 5G networks layer intelligence on to every journey, transport in India is shifting from the chaos of movement to an elevated commuter experience. The digital rails being laid today are not just moving people and goods – they are carrying the country towards a future where efficiency feels effortless, and technology fades into the background of simply moving well.
A look at the key technologies and innovations that are shaping the sector…
AI
From self-driving vehicles to intelligent traffic management systems, the integration of AI in transportation is playing a vital role in shaping a more connected and future-ready mobility ecosystem. Together, these applications drive greater safety, efficiency and sustainability within the sector.
AI is being adopted across various modes of transportation in the country. Since December 2024, Hyderabad’s Rajiv Gandhi International Airport has been deploying digital twins that are powered by AI that utilise real-time data to optimise decision-making, reduce disruptions and ensure seamless operations. In addition to airports, the ports of India are catching up on AI adoption. Inaugurated in May 2025, Kerala’s Vizhinjam port has became fully automated. It harnesses modern sensors, radar-based technology and AI to reduce the turnaround time of ships and improve navigational safety. Further, in August 2025, Delhi Metro started implementing unattended train operations (UTO) on the Magenta Line. The Pink Line is also moving towards the adoption of these driverless trains. Meanwhile, according to the government, deploying AI has led to a 30 per cent rise in occupancy rate in Indian railways. AI is also being deployed to ensure 100 per cent quality inspection of bed sheets used in trains, prevent wildlife deaths on railway tracks and for multilingual services. Coming to roads, the Madhya Pradesh government declared in March 2025 that it would switch to an intelligent traffic management system driven by AI to make Indore a “signal-free metropolis”. It is anticipated to reduce traffic congestion and traffic accidents in the city. An international study found that in the Chinese cities of Suzhou, Chengdu and Harbin, congestion reduction may reduce CO2 emissions by 0.95 million tonnes (mt) (12.7 per cent), 1.53 mt (14.2 per cent) and 0.98 mt (12.9 per cent) respectively.
Going forward, with India’s AI market projected to reach $17 billion by 2027, its adoption by the transportation industry is poised to grow further.
Cloud
The push towards smart cities and mobility-as-a-service in the country is further accelerating cloud adoption, with secure, regulation-compliant cloud infrastructures becoming central for both public and corporate transportation providers aiming for sustainable growth and seamless service delivery. Now, enterprises in the sector are harnessing cloud computing to store information related to ridership, traffic status and toll collection on a secure dashboard.
In October 2024, Adani Airport Holdings partnered with Thales for the implementation of Fly to Gate, its cloud-based solution, at all its airports in India for streamlining operations and enhancing passenger experience. It uses biometrics to eliminate the need for pre-enrolled passengers to produce relevant verification documents at each checkpoint, and reportedly decreases passengers’ processing time up to 30 per cent. Indian Railways, too, is fostering cloud adoption by migrating from the passenger reservation system that runs on legacy technology to the latest cloud technology-adherent systems. On the roads, vehicle-to-vehicle communication is gaining traction. This technology leverages cloud processing for real-time data on traffic, weather and road conditions. In January 2025, Jaguar Land Rover partnered with Tata Communications for connected cars using the latter’s cloud-first, software-defined wide area network technology.
Looking ahead, India’s cloud computing market is touted to grow at a CAGR of 26.5 per cent from 2025 to 2030, offering immense untapped potential to the sector.
IoT
To offer safe and effective transportation, internet-of-things (IoT) devices are being used in a number of applications, most notably ticketing, security, surveillance, predictive maintenance and streamlining operations.
In terms of adoption, Delhi’s international airport introduced a unified total airside management (UTAM) system to prevent delays, reduce turnaround times, monitor all airside activities and enforce airside vehicle speed regulations to prevent violations. Launched in March 2025, UTAM relies on AI, machine learning, IoT and radar systems to carry out operations efficiently. Further, in June 2025, the Ministry of Ports, Shipping and Waterways signed an agreement with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing to establish a digital centre of excellence for the maritime sector. Among other things, the centre will promote the modernisation of port operations and the shipping logistics through new-age technologies such as AI, IoT and blockchain. In parallel, Hyderabad Metro Rail has been relying on AI and IoT for predictive maintenance to reduce costs. In May 2025, Eastern Railway adopted “Gandhvedh”, an IoT-based system, to enable real-time hygiene monitoring of toilets in trains. Further, in February 2025, the Odisha government announced plans to implement IoT (including sensors, cameras, alarms and GPS trackers) to lower road accidents.
India’s IoT market is projected to grow from $32.85 billion in 2024 to $114.53 billion by 2035, registering a CAGR of 12.03 per cent.
Internet connectivity
5G and enhanced internet connectivity are playing a transformative role in India’s transportation sector by enabling real-time communication, data processing and smart mobility solutions.
The sky is not the limit as far as in-flight connectivity is concerned. In January 2025, Air India became the first airline to roll out in-flight internet services on domestic routes. In the following month, Delhi Metro Rail Corporation signed an agreement with Beckhaul Digital Technologies to lay 700 km of fibre optic cables to boost internet connectivity amid increasing demand for high speed internet and 5G expansion. Parallelly, Indian Railways is offering free Wi-Fi at 6,115 stations, as of August 2025. Moreover, telecom vendor Nokia recently unveiled a new 5G radio system to provide railway operators with high-capacity and high-performance connectivity. It aims to provide real-time train control and monitoring, predictive maintenance and integrated communication along with energy efficiency.
With estimates of 270 million users by 2024 and an astounding 970 million by 2030, India’s 5G market is expected to leave significant footprints on the transportation sector.
Moving forward
With the integration of cutting-edge digital technologies across several modes, such as road, rail and urban transit, digitisation in India’s transportation sector has revolutionised efficiency, transparency and safety. In addition to facilitating cashless transactions and smooth multimodal trip planning, the use of AI, IoT, 5G and real-time data analytics is enhancing infrastructure monitoring, accident reporting and traffic management.
As India continues to invest in digitisation alongside infrastructure expansion, the transport sector is set to become a backbone of the modern, competitive economy, facilitating the seamless movement of goods and people and contributing significantly to the nation’s vision of a $40 trillion economy by 2047.
Nikhaar Gogna
