Now buy railway tickets via debit, credit cards

Indian Railways will allow commuters to pay via debit and credit cards to buy railway tickets, Sameer Dixit of Zee Business reports.

A source close to Railways Ministry said that Indian Railways is planning to install more than 5000 POS (point of sale) machines at railway stations, so that people can buy tickets through plastic money.

Indian Railways has approached State Bank of India (SBI) to help them with digital payments system. 

The government is aiming at installing all the 5000 POS machines by March 31, 2017, the source said.

To start with, the government will install the POS machines only at the busiest railway stations. However, in the second phase the machines will be installed at other stations including for Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS). 

Moreover, the source said, "In the country, at around 5,904 stations, 12,147 terminals have UTS service to buy tickets. While at 3,440 stations, 13,052 terminals have PIS service, which means, traveller can buy railway tickets directly from the window."

The source mentioned that, till now at 701 stations, 1,164 Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters have POS machines installed by Indian Railways. While, for Monthly Season Ticket (MST) the Railways have installed 156 POS machines at 396 stations.