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Digital transactions gain traction at Ludhiana railway station, dedicated counters alloted
Railways push cashless ticketing with dedicated counters, awareness drive till April 23, nearly 25% unreserved tickets also go digital as campaign boosts adoption
Digital payments have seen a sharp surge at Ludhiana Junction, with 20-25% of unreserved tickets and nearly 50% of reserved bookings now being processed digitally, officials said.
The shift follows the introduction of digital payment facilities by the Railways in 2024. As part of the initiative, the Ferozepur Division has set up dedicated booking windows for digital transactions at major stations, including Ludhiana Junction, to streamline ticketing, enhance transparency, and improve crowd management.
To further boost adoption, the division is running a special awareness campaign across stations from April 6 to April 23, encouraging passengers to opt for digital modes of payment and booking.
“At present, at least 20-25% of daily transactions at the unreserved ticket counters are digital,” said a senior station official. “In reserved ticketing, nearly half of the transactions are now digital,” the officer added.”Almost all parcel booking transactions have also shifted to digital platforms,” another official at the railway station said.
Officials said initial hesitation among passengers stemmed from concerns over the safety of bank accounts. However, acceptance has grown steadily over time.
“Passengers were initially apprehensive, but the response has improved significantly,” the official said.
The shift has also enhanced operational efficiency by reducing the time spent on cash handling, counting and bank deposits.
With payments directly routed to railway accounts, the workload on ticketing staff has eased considerably.
The Railways is also promoting the ‘Rail One’ mobile
application, which enables passengers to book both reserved and unreserved tickets, check train schedules and track trains in real time on a single platform
