Soon, the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) will outsource the work of e-Ticketing service. This initiative will help those people who do not have access to computers and cyber cafes to get ticket printouts.
The corporation is tying up with different government institutions, International Air Transport Association (IATA) agents and other private players so that certain amount of tickets can be booked by an alternative method through a cash card called 'Itz'. The IRCTC would be giving the facility at post offices and other public dealing offices. The service provider gets a commission of INR 5 per ticket. Under the present arrangement, a password on the cash card enables a user to have a computer generated railway ticket. But it was not possible for everyone to buy the cash card. With the help of new arrangement, tickets with waiting list can be obtained in form computer generated ticket. The limit for each agent to book 10 to 15 tickets in a day would soon be extended to 25 tickets a day. The IRCTC has received request to extend the facility to Phagwara, Hoshiarpur, Nahan, Solan, Uttarakhand and other towns in hilly areas. In the northern region, the facility of e-Ticketing was presently available at 18 locations in urban centres, which was now being extended to small towns and non-urban areas.
