Bhubaneswar: In what could be a major boost for lakhs of railway commuters, the East Coast Railway today announced new provisions wherein passengers can use smart phones to buy unreserved train tickets.
Key Features:
■ PASSENGERS NOW AVAIL UTS TICKETS THROUGH MOBILE FOR TRAIN JOURNEY
■ RAIL COMMUTERS CAN NOW USE A MOBILE APP TO OBTAIN TICKETS IN THE UNRESERVED CATEGORY
■ MOBILE APPLICATION-BASED PAPERLESS TICKET
East Coast Railway General Manager Umesh Singh today launched a mobile app based Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) at the Rail Sadan here in Bhubaneswar. This Application will be a great relief to passengers from East Coast Railway jurisdiction, mostly travelling on Unreserved Tickets.
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Informing the media about the functionaries of Mobile App based Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS), ECoR Principal Chief Commercial Manager Ajay Kumar Behera said, “With the availability of a Mobile App to book Unreserved Tickets, passengers will get their journey hassle free and it will be more comfortable for travelling in general compartments. Presently, passengers are standing in long queues for several hours for getting train tickets from general ticket Booking Counters at Railway Stations and some are using ATVMs. After implementation of this system, standing in queues for general tickets will be reduced with the start of the digital transaction process”.
This App will also promote paperless transactions in Railways while the passengers can also make payment through their credit/debit cards, net Banking, UPI without facing any hardships.
This apart, several specifications have been kept under consideration while developing the App. If a passenger wants to get an unreserved ticket, then he/she has to stay between 20 metres to 2 kms from the Railway Stations for the app to function properly. A passenger can also get a platform ticket or season ticket by following the same specification for better functioning of the App.
In the system, passengers have to download UTS App from Google Play Store/Window Store/Apple Store and then register his/her Mobile Number, Name, Date of Birth and Identity Proof, using Sign up option.
After successful registration, a 4-digit Password SMS will be sent to the Customer’s Mobile and R-Wallet will be created with Zero Balance. Passengers then need to recharge with a minimum balance of Rupees 100/- and maximum of Rupees 10,000/- in multiples of Rupees 100/- in the R-Wallet. They then have to book their unreserved tickets by logging in using User ID and Password to book single, return journey, Platform and Season Tickets.
As this is paperless, the passengers are not required to take printouts. Tickets once booked cannot be cancelled or refunded, ECoR added.
Sources said passengers will use “Show Ticket” option to show the Ticket Checking Staff on demand. If the passenger is not able to show the Ticket in the App to the Ticket Checking Staff, he/she will be treated as travelling without ticket and a fine will be imposed as per extant rules. It may be noted that the “Show Ticket” option will also work even if there is no internet connection.