SCR Leads in Digital Purchasing of Unreserved Tickets
-SCR stands first amongst all Zones of Indian Railways in terms of percentage of Passengers purchasing Unreserved Tickets through UTS APP and ATVMs
-37% of Unreserved passengers in SCR bought their tickets either through UTS App or ATVMs during Apr’22 - Jan’23
The digital measures being implemented across South Central Railway, especially in Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS), have witnessed increasing patronage from rail passengers. The Zone has introduced UTS APP as well as Automatic Ticket Vending Machines which provide an option to the Rail passengers to purchase unreserved tickets through digital modes. While UTS App gives the option of purchasing the unreserved tickets through the convenience of their smart phones and without standing in queues at the stations, Passengers can buy tickets at the ATVMs installed at the station through their smart card and other payment options.
During the current financial year, 37% of the total unreserved passengers in SCR have bought their tickets either through UTS app or ATVMs during April 2022 – January 2023. This is the highest across all Zones on Indian Railways in terms of percentage of passengers purchasing unreserved tickets through UTS App and ATVMs. In the current financial year, nearly 5 lakh passenger have bought unreserved tickets on daily basis. Out of this, more than 1.85 lakh passengers (i.e., around 37%) have purchased their unreserved tickets either through UTS App or ATVMS at the stations. In terms of revenue, tickets purchased through these two mediums – UTS App and ATVMs – have contributed approximately 26% of the revenue (i.e., Rs. 91.6 lakhs out of the total revenue of Rs. 3.49 crores)
UTS App is one of the major digital avenues implemented by the Indian Railways in taking forward the digitization of Railway services. This facility not only provides convenience to the passengers to book their tickets with their smart phones (without standing in queues) but also promotes Green Environment by avoiding printing of tickets on paper. Recent initiatives like bonus for purchasing through R-Wallet as well as relaxation in distance restrictions have led to increased usage of the UTS APP by passengers. Nearly 12% of unreserved passengers in SCR have bought their tickets through UTS App, which is the highest among all Zones of Indian Railways. Similarly, ATVMs have been installed at all major railway stations, from where rail users can purchase their tickets through Digital payment options including scanning of QR codes.
Shri Arun Kumar Jain, General Manager, South Central Railway has stated that the Zone has proactively been promoting adoption of digital measures so as to provide enhanced convenience to rail passengers. He appealed to the rail passengers for adopting these digital initiatives which will not only save their time but also provide them an easy and convenient purchase option for their travel. Both UTS App as well as ATVMs can be used not only for purchasing unreserved tickets, but also for purchasing platform tickets as well as season tickets. 
