Smart card users on Central Railway (CR) will soon be able to book tickets and renew passes on 70 new automatic ticket vending machines (ATVMs) that will be installed at five stations on the suburban section.
A senior railway official said 160 more ATVMs will arrive by the end of this month. S.K. Jain, divisional railway manager, CR, said Central Railway plans to get 318 machines in total and will install them across 75 stations.
At present, CR has 429 ATVMs across the suburban section, of which several are not functional. Nineteen of the 70 ATVMs will be installed at Kalyan. Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus will get 6, Kurla 14, Ghatkopar 15, and Thane 16 machines.
In the existing machines, every time a ticket is printed, small bits of paper settle on the printer, thereby jamming it. “In the new machines, there is a small fan to ensure this does not happen,” said a senior official. Railway officials said the sensors to read the smart cards are now inside the ATVMs, which will improve their durability. Users will have to insert the card in a slot.
