Booking unreserved tickets just a click away 

Special Correspondent
Chennai, April 14, 2018 00:00 IST




No more waiting:The app has been launched to avoid long queues at unreserved booking counters.R. Ravindran

Southern Railway launches mobile app as part of mission to save at least 25 tonnes of paper

The Southern Railway on Friday embarked on a mission to save at least 25 tonnes of paper with the launch of an app that will enable passengers to book unreserved tickets across the zone. The paperless ticketing facility was earlier available only for the Chennai suburban sector.

The mobile app — utsonmobile — can be downloaded on any smart phone having access to Google Play Store and Apple Store. With unreserved passengers constituting 91% of the railway’s passenger business, Southern Railway is targeting at least two million passengers visiting unreserved ticket counters every day. There would be no additional charges for booking the unreserved tickets through the mobile app. Payment should be made through R-wallet, the railway’s exclusive e-payment wallet, though.

“Tickets can be booked within a 5-km radius of the station from which the passenger intends to travel,” a senior railway official said on Friday.

Geo-fencing facility

To avoid passengers booking platform tickets/unreserved tickets on seeing the ticket examiners, the app has been enabled with a geo-fencing technology that would prevent the user from booking the tickets from railway stations or on trains.

A minimum of 25 m distance from the railway station and a maximum of 5 km is the functional radius of the mobile app. Asked about the reason for the 5-km restriction, the official said a passenger booking an unreserved ticket has to use it within one hour. “This facility is to avoid long queues at unreserved booking counters. A passenger can purchase a ticket while on the move to the station to catch a train. He/she can upgrade to a higher class depending upon the availability by paying the extra fare as applicable,” the official added.

Passengers would require a one-time registration to activate the mobile app.

No proof of identity is required as the downloaded ticket is sufficient authority to travel