Suresh Prabhu, Railway Minister
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu launched three IT initiatives developed by Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), the IT arm of Ministry of Railways.
The initiatives include paperless unreserved ticketing through mobile phones between New Delhi and Palwal section, coin-cum-card operated automatic ticket vending machines at New Delhi railway station and a mobile application for freight operations.
The Minister said, “IT initiatives are directed towards improving passenger and customer services on Indian Railways. Indian Railways is constantly moving towards e-Governance.”
The IT initiatives being undertaken by Indian Railways are in line with the Digital India Programme, he added.
Prabhu said that in April & June the ministry had launched Paperless Unreserved Ticketing System for Chennai and Mumbai suburban sections. This system shall now be proliferated to other important suburban sections of Eastern Railway, South Eastern Railway and South Central Railway shortly.
He said that Introduction of Coin-cum-Currency operated Ticketing Vending Machine is another step forward in ensuring that passengers get their tickets quickly under ‘Operation five minutes’ announced in Railway Budget. These ticket vending machines shall be installed at all the major stations in the country. 450 machines are being procured and installed by CRIS and shall be available at major stations during the next 3 months.
The Freight Monitoring App named ‘Parichaalan’ shall greatly help the senior decision makers of Operating Department to plan freight operations on real-time basis. “After the initial experiment, this App shall be provided to other operating officers in the field,” said.
The Minister said that very soon Monthly Season Ticket (MST) can also be purchased through mobile by the passengers in Mumbai and Chennai suburban Railway network. The Railway Minister also said that even the platform ticket will soon be made available through the mobile phone.
The Railway Minister also announced that a Memorandum of Understanding will be signed shortly between Railways Department of CRIS and ISRO for using Geospatial Technology and satellite technology for various operations of Railways.