Dear Comrades,
This New System will Improve Customer Convenience and Empower the Common Man: Kharge
The Minister of Railways Shri Mallikarjun Kharge launched SMS
based ticketing system at a function here today. While addressing a gathering
on the occasion, Shri Kharge said that this user-friendly service which will be
effective from today i.e 28th June 2013, is being introduced in
order to further improve the customer convenience and empower the common man
who does not have access to internet and cannot afford to buy smart phones. He
said that since the mobile penetration in India has increased rapidly and more
than 80 per cent people have mobile phones, this new system will be helpful in
enabling booking of tickets by masses themselves. Ticket booking through
non-internet based mobile, introduced as a pilot project by Indian Railways
Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a Public Sector Undertaking of the
Ministry of Railways, will also help Railways in overcoming the menace of
touting whereby unsuspecting people are fleeced by such elements. This will
particularly be useful for labourers and workers staying away from their home
and who have to book tickets for travel to their native place, the Minister
added.
The Railway Minister further said that inconvenience in booking
reserved railway tickets has been a cause of concern for all. In order to facilitate easy access, Indian
Railways have been making efforts by expanding the passenger reservation system counters
network. The online booking through
IRCTC has now grown up to about 45% of total reserved tickets. This has eased the rush at counters to a great
extent. While internet access in India is only about 10%, mobiles are now in
easy reach and more than 80% people in our country use mobile phones, the
Minister said.
Speaking on the occasion, Chairman, Railway Board, Shri Vinay
Mittal said that Indian Railways’ initiative of launching the non-internet
based ticketing through a mobile phone would further enhance the scope and each
of ticketing since it has huge potential to tap the power of mobile phone. Shri
Mittal said that this service will be improved further with provision of more
payment options, user-friendly interface and value added services like alerts
and updates. Payment through mobiles is still in an evolving state and
Commercial Banks, RBI and National Payment Corporation of India are working on providing a
safe, secured and quick payment mechanism through mobile. As the payment option
mature and user gets accustomed to SMS booking, it has the potential of
overtaking bookings through internet as well as counters, he added.
In his welcome address, the Chairman-cum-Managing Director, IRCTC,
Shri Rakesh Tondon said that this is, indeed, IRCTC’s successful effort in
making railway ticket booking even easier through SMS or menu based USSD
technology which works on all mobile phones.
Through this service, customer can not only book ticket but also can
search for stations, trains, availability, PNR enquiry, make cancellation etc,
he added.
Launch of ticket booking service through mobile phones had been
announced in Railway Budget 2012-13.
This initiative will go a long way in customer convenience. With the passage of time, it is expected that
mobile booking will surpass reserved ticket booking by all other modes like
internet and counters. Mobile booking is
not only convenient but it also saves time and money. The user will have to get mobile money
account opened from his/her bank or mobile money providing agencies as approved
by the Reserve Bank of India.
The key features of ticket booking on mobile:
·
Ticket can be booked within minutes;
·
basic mobile phones are sufficient; no internet connection is
required;
·
The user will get ticket details on SMS instantly.
·
SMS along with valid ID in original can be used for travel, no
printout is required.
Book your ticket through USSD:
USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data)
based booking for Airtel subscribers*
Registration
• Register
for Airtel money by dialing *400#.
• Load
cash on this or recharge from any Airtel money outlet.
Booking Flow
• Dial
*400# and select book tickets option.
• Select
Reservation.
• Enter
your IRCTC User ID.
• Enter
the details of ticket (station, train no. date of journey, class etc.).
• Enter
mPIN for authorizing payment.
• Booking
confirmation SMS is sent by IRCTC and same can be used during journey along
with valid ID proof.
• Fare
& IRCTC service charges are debited from your Airtel money account.
• Charges:
No PG Charges.
• Agent /
IRCTC Service Charges: As applicable
Helpline No.:
121
Helpline Email :
121@airtelmoney.in
Book your ticket through SMS:
1. SMS based booking through 139*
Registration
• Register
your mobile number with IRCTC as well as with your bank.
• Bank
provides MMID (Mobile Money Identifier) & OTP (one time password) for
authorization of payment. (More than 25
banks are providing this facility. For details, visit website: http://www.npci.org.in/bankmember.aspx.)
Booking Flow
• Send
SMS, in the following syntax, to 139
BOOK
• You will
receive Transaction ID alongwith other details.
• Make
payment through sending an SMS, in the following syntax, to 139
PAY
and your ticket is booked.
• Service
is available to all mobile subscribers.
• SMSes @
Rs 3/- per SMS (2 SMSes are required for each booking).
• PG
charges Rs 5/- for ticket amount Rs 5000/- (as applicable by bank).
• Agent /
IRCTC Service Charges: As applicable
Helpline No.: 139
Helpline Email : smsticket139@bharatbpo.in
2. SMS based
booking through 5676714*
Registration
• Register
your mobile number with IRCTC as well as with m-wallet
(http://www.zipcash.in/user/nlogin.aspx)
• Send
SMS, to 5676717, in the following syntax START for user
authentication (first time only)
Booking Flow
• Send an
SMS to 5676714 to book a ticket in the following syntax:
BOOK,, ,
,,
• You will
receive the Transaction number.
• Send the
2nd SMS, for payment, in the following syntax.
1. “PAY
, MPAY, ” for authorizing payment through
MPAY
or
2. “PAY ,,,
,” for authorizing payment through IMPS.
• After
payment is made booking confirmation is sent to your mobile.
• Charges:
No PG Charges. Agent / IRCTC Service Charges: As applicable. SMSes @ Rs 3/- per
SMS (2 SMSes are required for each booking).
Helpline No. : 8882001001
Helpline Email : support@saarthii.com
3. SMS based booking through BSNL*
User should have the following:
1. BSNL SIM
card installed.
2. Java
enabled mobile phone.
3. Andhra
Bank Prepaid card.
This is
a menu driven application where user has to enter the details asked for in
simple step-by-step process to get the ticket.
Registration
• Install
the application.
• Select
the Register option to get the mPIN.
Booking
• Click
the icon BSNL Prepaid Card
• Select
Ticketing > Train (IRCTC)
• Fill up
the journey details such as From stn, To Stn, Train No, DOJ, Class, Quota,
passenger details.
• Enter
the mPIN to get the ticket information.
• Charges:
No PG Charges. Agent / IRCTC Service Charges: As applicable. SMSes without
charges.
Helpline No. : +91-8801298038
Helpline Email : bsnl.support@pyrogroup.com
PIB AKS/HK/BS (Release ID :96881)
