Indian Railways has introduced unreserved mobile ticketing services across the country in a bid to promote digital transactions and customer convenience.
Customers can now purchase unreserved tickets including season tickets and platform tickets through the Utsonmobile app.
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Developed by the Ministry of Railways’ Centre for Railway Information Systems, the app is available for Android, IOS and Windows platforms.
Besides encouraging cashless payments and contactless ticketing, the introduction of the unreserved mobile ticketing facility is expected to eliminate long queues to buy tickets.
In December 2014, Indian Railways started a pilot project for booking unreserved tickets through mobile phones at selected stations on Central Railway zone.
Mobile ticketing was expanded to major suburban sections in metropolitan cities of Delhi, Kolkata, Chennai and Secunderabad.
Since 2015, the average number of tickets sold through the app has increased from 1,900 to 83,000 per day.
Customers can book the unreserved tickets while within the ticketing zone and outside the geofenced area (customers cannot book tickets within the station premises or on train routes).
Currently, all payments need to be carried out through R-Wallet, but digital modes of payment including e-wallets will be gradually introduced.
In May, Indian Railways introduced a user interface for e-ticketing systems as part of its digitalisation drive.
The interface enables smooth navigation and expedites the ticket-purchase process.
