You may soon not require a ticket to travel by train. Just an SMS will ensure your journey.
Now, a confirmed SMS will serve as a sort of e-ticket for rail travel, according to a proposal mooted by the railway
ministry.
This service, if operationalised, will be the first of its kind in the Railways, R K Tandon Executive Director (Passenger Marketing) told PTI.
However, the service will be available only for unreserved tickets, he said.
"The proposal is in the exploratory stage. Some banks have shown interest in it and the Railway Board will take a final decision in this regard soon," Tandon said.
The system of using SMS as e-ticket is known as virtual ticketing on mobile, he said adding "we are in discussion with banks and mobile companies to operationalise the scheme."
The proposal is part of railway ministry's plan to provide rail tickets at doorsteps.
"Our aim is to reduce the rush at ticket counters and provide quality service to passengers. We are also installing automatic ticket vending machines at some stations," Tandon said.
Unreserved tickets for local or long distance train travel constitute 90 per cent of total tickets sold in a day.
Now, a confirmed SMS will serve as a sort of e-ticket for rail travel, according to a proposal mooted by the railway
ministry.
This service, if operationalised, will be the first of its kind in the Railways, R K Tandon Executive Director (Passenger Marketing) told PTI.
However, the service will be available only for unreserved tickets, he said.
"The proposal is in the exploratory stage. Some banks have shown interest in it and the Railway Board will take a final decision in this regard soon," Tandon said.
The system of using SMS as e-ticket is known as virtual ticketing on mobile, he said adding "we are in discussion with banks and mobile companies to operationalise the scheme."
The proposal is part of railway ministry's plan to provide rail tickets at doorsteps.
"Our aim is to reduce the rush at ticket counters and provide quality service to passengers. We are also installing automatic ticket vending machines at some stations," Tandon said.
Unreserved tickets for local or long distance train travel constitute 90 per cent of total tickets sold in a day.