No smartphone, no problem: You can still book a Mumbai railway ticket using your mobile phone

Mumbai city news: The railways plan to introduce a software, which will help commuters book tickets through USSD codes

Suburban railway commuters who do not have smart phones can still book railway tickets using their mobiles. How? The railways plan to introduce a software, which will help commuters book tickets through unstructured supplementary service data (USSD) codes, by the end of the year.

Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS), the organisation behind the software, said it was currently being tested. (HT File Photo)

After the commuter books a ticket, it will be sent to him via SMS. He must scan this SMS at kiosks that will be installed at railway stations to get a physical copy of his ticket.

Kiosks are currently being installed at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, Dadar, Thane, Dombivli, Kalyan, Churchgate, Dadar, Bandra, Borivli and Andheri as part of the railways’ pilot project.

Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS), the organisation behind the software, said it was currently being tested.

“Commuters can dial the code to have a ticket sent to their phone. They can print tickets at kiosks installed at the stations. Currently, we have only developed USSD codes suburban services. But, we plan to form codes for long-distance codes too,” said Uday Bobhate, general manager, CRIS.

As many as 5,000 mobile tickets on the Central Railway and 4,000 on the Western Railway are sold daily.