Southern Railway plans to launch booking of tickets through scanning of QR code using the Unified Ticketing System (UTS) app in the coming months, said Southern Railway Chief Commercial Manager Priamvada Viswanathan.
The UTS app has become a popular mode for booking tickets, including unreserved seats and monthly pass. However, to book through the UTS app, there are certain restrictions and passengers can only book the tickets away from stations because of the geofencing mechanism.
To make the UTS app more popular among the public and to avoid queues in front of ticket counters, Southern Railway plans to provide QR codes at various railway stations to enable passengers to book the tickets even after they reach the stations. At present, the UTS app works on a smartphone using the GPS facility, which is linked to the geofencing mechanism. But once the QR code is installed at railway stations, commuters can book tickets avoiding the GPS and the geofencing, officials said. To promote the UTS app, Southern Railway has started giving a bonus of 5% for every recharge made via the R-Wallet (Railway Wallet) from May 24, Ms. Viswanathan said. More than 2 lakh tickets in unreserved compartments have been booked through the app since its launch. Revenue through the sale of unreserved tickets to nearly 12 lakh passengers alone through the UTS app amounted to ₹80.55 lakh, she told a press conference on Thursday.
