Your wait in long queues at railway stations may end soon. People can soon swipe their debit/credit cards on red coloured ATVMs at railway stations. This will do away with the need to buy separate Smart Cards and reduce the dependence on queues at ticket counters.
The Centre for Railway Information System (CRIS) has already prepared a prototype and is testing on the same. A point of sale (POS) machine will be fixed below the screen of automatic ticket vending machines (ATVMs). This machine will allow commuters swipe their debit/credit cards and buy local train tickets.
The cost of these POS will be around Rs 15,000 or so, while that of ATVMs is less than Rs 1 lakh.
A commuter needs to select the destination and then swipe the card before typing the fare amount. The PIN will then complete the transaction. However, sources said that they are working on the technical problems that can arise.
"We have generated several tickets using the POS installed in these ATVMs. We are still testing the system for technical issues that may arise," said an official from CRIS.
"What if a person swipes the card and money gets deducted from his/her bank account but the ticket is not generated? Who will bear this cost? These are some of the things that are being worked on right now," said a railway official.
There are other issues as well that is being worked out. On Saturday, Union Railway minister Piyush Goyal inaugurated 40 new regular ATVMs on the Western Railway. Currently, there are over 900 ATVMs on WR and CR.
SIGH OF RELIEF
- The cost of these POS will be around Rs 15000 or so, while that of ATVMs is less than Rs 1 lakh
- Commuter has to select the destination and swipe the card before typing the amount
- Currently, the officials are working on the technical problems that may arise in future
