Now, SMS-based rail ticket booking launched - Indian Express

PTI : New Delhi, Fri Jun 28 2013, 19:36 hrs Railway Minister said inconvenience in booking reserved railway tickets has been a cause of concern for all. (AP) Indian railways today launched SMS-based ticketing with two dedicated numbers - 139 and 5676714 - for the service. "In order to give improved customer service and empower the common man who does not have access to internet and cannot afford to buy smart phones, we are today launching SMS ticket booking service", Railway Minister Mallikarjun Kharge said. He said the service will particularly be useful for labourers staying away from home as they will find the service convenient as well as cost-effective and they will not have to travel to booking counters and forgo the earnings for a day. Ticket booking through non-internet based mobile, launched as a pilot project by Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), will also help Railways overcome the menace of touts who fleece unsuspecting people, Kharge said. "This will also help reduce touting activities. We will see how it functions... if there are shortcomings, then we will try to change accordingly", he said. He hoped since the mobile penetration in India has increased rapidly and more than 80 per cent people have mobile phones, the new system will be helpful in enabling booking of tickets by masses themselves. The Railway Minister said inconvenience in booking reserved railway tickets has been a cause of concern for all. "In order to facilitate easy access, 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 per cent of total reserved tickets. This has eased the rush at counters to a great extent. "While internet access in India is only about 10 per cent, mobiles are now in easy reach and more than 80 per cent people in our country use mobile phones," Minister said. Railway Board Chairman Vinay Mittal said railways' initiative of launching the ticketing through a mobile phone would further enhance the scope of ticketing since it has huge potential to tap the power of mobile phones. ... contd. ALSO READ PM Manmohan Singh for Rs 1.15 lakh cr investment in PPP projects in six months Investors richer by Rs 1.5 lakh crore as stocks jump Indian rupee rebounds to 59 level, up 80 paise vs US dollar ONGC, OIL to gain from gas price hike, GAIL to take a hit Please read our terms of use before posting comments TERMS OF USE: The views, opinions and comments posted are your, and are not endorsed by this website. You shall be solely responsible for the comment posted here. The website reserves the right to delete, reject, or otherwise remove any views, opinions and comments posted or part thereof. You shall ensure that the comment is not inflammatory, abusive, derogatory, defamatory &/or obscene, or contain pornographic matter and/or does not constitute hate mail, or violate privacy of any person (s) or breach confidentiality or otherwise is illegal, immoral or contrary to public policy. Nor should it contain anything infringing copyright &/or intellectual property rights of any person(s). via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNGXKu9jSJYTzQlzvbuhb2kchO4aVg&url=http://www.indianexpress.com/news/now-smsbased-rail-ticket-booking-launched/1135184/

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