Mumbai: In a first, window sales on Central Railway dip under 50%

Mumbaikars are slowly but surely ditching the long wait at railway station ticket counters, according to the latest Central Railway (CR) statistics.

Commuters queue up at a railway ticket counter

For the first time ever, the total contribution of the window ticket sales through the unreserved ticketing system (UTS) has gone under 50 per cent. Simply put, it means that people are opting for other forms of ticketing like the automatic ticket vending machines (ATVMs), cash/coin vending machines, mobile ticketing and Jan Sadharan Ticket Booking Sevak (JTBS) scheme, in which regular shops are sourced to sell local train tickets.

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CR figures reveal that the contribution of UTS in June stands at 49.81 per cent, with sales totalling around 1.40 crore tickets. Additionally, the sale of tickets from around the over 450 ATVMs in the suburban stations has gone up substantially and stands at 34 per cent in June.

"We have been trying to promote ATVMs, cash/coin ticket vending machines and mobile ticketing as an alternative, but yet over the years, the queues never cease. We have been trying to reduce the dependence on the window sale of tickets," said a CR official.

Initially, the response to the ATVMs was poor as people found it difficult to use and it barely floated at around 12-15 per cent. However, over the years, the railway authorities posted railway staff at these ATVMs, who used their card to issue train tickets, which has now resulted in the jump, the official added.

"It becomes convenient to get a ticket from these ATVMs, instead of standing in queues," said Megha Sood, a commuter who boards from Borivli.

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The contribution of JTBS, which hovers at around 15 per cent, also seems to have maintained the status quo. Under this scheme, the CR has allowed private shops to sell local train tickets at a premium of Rs 1 over the ticket fare.

Meanwhile, there are around 90 CoTVM machines - cash/coin ticket vending machines - in the suburban section that are yet to show concrete uptick. "We are looking at cutting down two or three steps and making the machine more user-friendly," said another CR official.

CR says
Narendra Patil, chief PRO, CR, said, "This is the first time that queues at ticket counters of railway stations have come down. We are hoping that other modes of ticketing continue to gain prominence so that people do not waste time standing in queues."