New Delhi, May 16 (IANS): Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu on Tuesday said the Indian Railways is one of the most "data rich" organisations and is working to use its data for "operational improvements and monetisation".

"The Indian Railways, one of the most data-rich organisations. We are working on leveraging our data assets," Prabhu said while speaking at the Round Table Conference on Data Analytics on the Railways.

According to him, the data creation is phenomenal in the Indian Railways to carry out commercial and operational opportunity.

"Data can be leveraged for operational improvements and monetisation. We are working on a holistic plan of Mission Rail Development," the minister said, adding that "data analytics must be studied, analysed and monitored to improve the Railways' programme".

He pointed out that technology is ever evolving and the need of the hour is to progress with data analytics.

"Indian Railways shall be the growth engine. Data analytics can help to create a system that may benefit Railways immensely," he said.