As Reported By AndhraBusiness.com, Largest Online news network for business news in Hyderabad, Andhra Pradesh
Bored of standing in long queues at the railway booking counters? In a move to reduce growing queues at the counters in busy stations, South Central Railway(SCR) has installed Automated Ticket Vending Machine (ATVM) at three stations in Hyderabad.
The 19 ATVMS installed at Secunderabad, Begumpet and Hitech city stations enable the passengers to buy MMTS tickets, unreserved second class tickets and platform tickets through smart cards. The smart cards can be availed from the booking window with an initial amount of Rs 80, which is subject to a maximum top-up limit of Rs 1,000.
While Chennai and Mumbai issue only suburban tickets through ATVMS, the SCR is the first zone in the Indian Railways to issue general second class tickets through AVTMS.
“With the state-of-art technology, the passengers can get their tickets within three seconds. A 24-hr helpline is also available to address any teething problems in the software. We expect to sell at least 50,000 cards in the first phase,” said MS Jayanth, General Manager, South Central Railway.
With an estimated cost of Rs 3.71 lakh per machine, the SCR bagged permissions for 75 ATVMs at 21 MMTS stations.
In addition to this, the SCR also introduced an SMS based Passenger Complaint and Suggestion system, operational from Monday.
The SMS based Passenger Complaint and Suggestion System allows the passengers to lodge complaints or suggestions through an SMS to 81212-81212. The status of the complaint and the action taken is communicated to the passengers through a reply SMS.
“This service is aimed at helping railways prioritise its focus areas and to foster greater participation of customers,” added Mr Jayanth.
