Soon, get train tickets from vending machines

PUNE: The railway administration has initiated steps to install automatic ticket vending machines (ATVMs) at prominent stations in the Pune division. The move would especially be of help to passengers of suburban and mail/express trains, who have to wait in long queues to buy unreserved journey tickets.

Two such machines have already been installed for initial testing at Pune station and are expected to begin functioning in the next few days once the testing is complete.

The administration plans to install about 50 vending machines in a phased manner at stations that have registered an increase or have the potential of increased passenger traffic. Most of these stations are located on three important routes in the division, including Pune-Lonavla, Pune-Daund and Pune-Satara.

Everyday, the Pune railway division operates over 44 trips of suburban trains between Pune, Talegaon and Lonavla. It also operates passenger trains on the Pune-Daund, Pune-Baramati and Pune-Satara routes. Over 60,000 passengers travel on these routes every day.

Ravi Mehta, a regular commuter on local trains, said the new system would help save time and efforts of passengers, especially those who catch trains at the last moment. "The administration, however, has to ensure that it has technical back-up to restore the system in case of any glitches," Ravi said.

A railway official said this was a step towards introducing new technology to benefit passengers. Commuters are required to buy a prepaid smart card to avail this service. The concept has been implemented successfully in various railway divisions, including Mumbai division where thousands use these machines daily.

The administration is expected to appoint facilitators who will explain the functioning of the machines to passengers, in the coming month. Officials said the machines would also help curb instances of ticketless travel.

Automatic ticket vending machines at stations

# Two machines installed on trial basis in Pune station

# Machines to begin official operation once the trial phase is complete

# Administration plans to install 50 machines in a phased manner

# Machines to be installed at prominent stations

# Move to benefit suburban, mail/express train passengers

How will it work?

Passengers will have to buy a pre-paid smart-card to avail this service

While buying a ticket, the machine will read the card and display names of important stations on its screen

Passengers will have to key in exact journey route

The machine will then generate a ticket and deduct the ticket cost from the card balance

The administration will allocate windows at stations to help passengers recharge their cards