Purchasing unreserved tickets just got easier at the Mysuru Railway Station. Five smart card-based automatic ticket vending machines (ATVM) were inaugurated here on Tuesday. This will obviate the need for passengers to stand in long queues to purchase unreserved tickets or platform tickets as they can operate the touch-screen kiosks themselves and get a ticket printed within seconds.
While three ATVMs are located adjacent to the booking counter of the main station, two are at the second entry from the CFTRI side. Divisional Railway Manager Rajkumar Lal, who inaugurated the ATVMs, said besides five machines, two versatile machines that will be operational with smart cards and cash, are also being procured and will be installed at the city station in due course.
The ATVMs will benefit frequent travellers as the smart cards can be topped-up with currency ranging from a minimum of Rs. 70 to a maximum of Rs. 5,000. It can be used to purchase tickets for travelling the same day, and the amount will be debited to one’s account.
Unreserved tickets
The present booking counters issuing unreserved journey tickets tend to be crowded most of the time and passengers tend to be on edge and grow anxious that they may miss the train. This is especially felt when trains depart to different destinations around the same time — mostly during peak hours — from different platforms. Besides, season tickets can be renewed, but passengers have to approach the staff at the counters for cancellations.
To reduce crowding
The launch of ATVMs is one of the measures to decentralise ticketing to reduce crowding at the main current booking office. Destination-specific counters, Jan Sadharan Ticket Booking Sevaks who issue tickets at a service cost of Rs. 1 over and above the specified rates are other initiatives in place to reduce crowding.
In all, 23 ATMVs have been sanctioned for Mysuru Division of the South Western Railway of which five have been installed at the city station.
The ATVMs will also be installed at other major stations including Shivamogga, Hassan, Davanagere etc in the division.
Delayed for five years
The facility was in the pipeline for more than five years but was delayed for various reasons though it is operational across various suburban railways in major cities.Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Anil Kumar and other staff were present during the inauguration.
