Chennai: Annoyed by the long, snail-paced queues for tickets at suburban railway stations? Fret not any more as Southern Railway has launched QR codes-based ticketing system.
According to railway sources, the QR codes are on display at various locations across railway stations in Chennai. Passengers can scan them to book tickets through the UTS mobile application.
Reports reveal that nearly ten lakh citizens make use of the MRTS and the suburban trains every day.
Principal Chief Commercial Manager, Southern Railway, Priamvada Viswanathan said that posters with QR codes have been placed across all the railway stations in Chennai.
According to sources, passengers who book unreserved tickets through the mobile app for destinations that do not come under the Southern Railway division can stop printing tickets once the QR code based ticketing service is introduced to other parts across the country from 1 November. Currently, these passengers need to go for printed tickets.
How does it work?
All you need is a smart phone with an internet connection. By using the scanner in your smart phone, a passenger can scan the QR code poster that are on display at a railway station. Once the code is scanned, the UTS app opens through which passengers can book their tickets. They are prompted to enter the destination station while the ‘From’ station is already filled based on their current location. Passengers can then choose the number of tickets and finally book their tickets.
Why QR codes?
Currently, booking unreserved tickets through UTS app can be done only outside the railway station because geo-fencing is used by the app. So, tickets can be booked only about 1-2 km away from a station. But the QR codes enables commuters to book tickets right at a railway station.
According to sources from the Southern Railway, about five per cent of passengers book unreserved tickets through the mobile app. They are planning to take this to ten per cent by the end of this financial year. Using this facility will reduce the need for printing tickets.
Naturally it will help Southern Railway to save money. In a small way, it will also keep the railway stations clean as printed tickets won’t be littered by passengers.
Going digital
The Southern Railway has taken measures to improve and promote mobile ticket booking system. Recently, they launched an app called ‘Rail Partner’ to help passengers to check out the timings of suburban trains among other features. Since its launch, the app has been downloaded more than 5,000 times and has also received good response from users.