Indian Railways witnesses 35,000% increase in paperless unreserved tickets

Railways Minister Piyush Goyal today said that number of paperless Unreserved Tickets have moved up from 195 in 2014-15 to 67,000 last year. Goyal said this while addressing a seminar ‘Leveraging IT for Mobility’ organised by Ministry of Railways & Centre for Railway Information Services (CRIS).

“A rapid scale-up of technology is what the nation expects out of us, and that's where we can take the help of the private sector in helping us develop and use that technology. It is encouraging to note that Paperless Unreserved Tickets have moved up from 195 in 2014-15 to 67,000 last year, which is a 35,000 % increase over a period of three years,” said Goyal.

He also said that Railways now provides free WiFi, best in the country in terms of speed, at 110 stations.

“We have now taken Wifi to 710 railway stations, best in the country in terms of speed. I am proud of Railwaymen who have done that. We have to make Indian Railways efficient, better & customise it for better customer experience by changing the mindset,” he said.

Goyal said that this is time for Railways to get its charm back.

“It's time we get the charm back to the Indian Railways and to my mind, technology can be that defining factor that will help Indian railways change both its direction and its face. There are so many new transformations that the railways is working on related to the tracks, safety, signalling, catering, punctuality, and modernizing our inspection processes which will make them more efficient and clinically sound,” said Goyal.

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Goyal also launched a new mobile app ‘AAPOORTI’ of the Indian Railways e-procurement system. Key features of the app are:

* This app provides information and data related to e-tendering and e-auction related activities of Indian Railways.  

* For e-tendering activities, users can see details related to tenders published, tenders closed, purchase orders placed.

* For activities related to e-auction of scrap sale, users can see upcoming auctions, auction schedules, sale conditions, details of material available for e-auction, auctioning units.

* User manuals of IREPS are also made available on the App.

* The App also provides for a rating of the app and taking feedback from users which shall help us continuously improve the app.

During the seminar, Railways officials deliberated on leveraging IT to facilitate mobility in a number of ways.

“Firstly, mobile apps on hand-held devices connected through reliable networks to central IT systems can provide information to consumers while they are on the move. Such devices also facilitate the collection of information for further processing. Secondly, IT systems can help to optimise the resources that make mobility possible. Examples are information systems that can optimise the routing of traffic through the rail network. Thirdly, IoT (the Internet of Things) enables data to be collected automatically using remote devices placed on fixed or moving assets to ensure that these are optimally utilised. This helps to provide reliable transportation systems for mobility. Fourthly, the use of IT can enable information to be seamlessly exchanged across organisational, even national boundaries, to provide efficient and uninterrupted movement of goods and people across these boundaries,” said the railways in a statement.