Not Just Smart Cards, You Can Now Use Debit/Credit Cards for Local Train Tickets!

If you are from Mumbai, you are most likely to be a regular local commuter. Every day, over 2300 train services are carried out in our economic capital. Around 7.5 million people take the trains daily!

For all those 7.5 million passengers, the Central Railways has brought some good news.

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Currently, you can purchase tickets for a local train either over the counter, or use the Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVM). To use ATVMs, you need to have a smart card, and use the top-up method to purchase tickets. A report by the Central Railways claims that out of the total local train tickets purchased, 25% are bought over ATVMs.

Central Railways will now enable you to purchase tickets on ATVMs using your debit or credit cards! The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) is currently testing these Point-of-Sale (PoS) machines that will soon make a debut in Mumbai.

The pilot system will be introduced in Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus Railway Station (CSMT) in the coming months. This project is jointly implemented by CRIS and the State Bank of India.

Central Railways will roll out 318 machines in the coming months, and the older ATVMs will also be updated to include this system.

So if you are a regular local train commuter, soon you will be able to use your debit or credit card to purchase your tickets, instead of your smart cards. If you are not a frequent traveller, this system will help you too, since you won’t need to deposit money in your smart cards. Instead, you can buy a local train ticket using your bank card.

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Central Railway has also introduced QR code stickers on select railway stations on the suburban Mumbai network. Commuters can use the UTS mobile application to detect your railway station. All you need to do is update your Railway Wallet, which will be created once you register your phone number on the UTS app. And you can buy your railway tickets from the app.

Citizens complained about the app not functioning due to GPS problems in railway stations. Central Railways has promised to resolve this problem by putting QR code stickers on every railway station for the smooth functioning of the UTS mobile app.

(Edited By Vinayak Hegde)

Featured image source: Twitter.

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