Kerala: App-based ticket in 18 railway stations

Kochi: The Southern Railway will launch a dedicated mobile application through which passengers can avail unreserved paperless ticket facility from 18 stations in the Thiruvananthapuram division on April 14. The app named ‘UTS on Mobile’ can also be used to purchase or renew season tickets and also to take platform tickets by using a smartphone with GPS and Internet connectivity.

Passengers can download the application on their mobile from Google Play or App or Microsoft depending on the operating system and avail unreserved tickets using R Wallet (Railway Wallet), an e-payment mode of Railways with no service charges. Once the passenger avails the facility, the image of the ticket can be downloaded on the phone.

“The image is non-transferable and linked to the IMEI of smartphone from which the ticket is taken, and can be shown to the travelling ticket examiner. A passenger, however, should be in the geofence area of the station which is 25 meters away from the railway track/station and within a radius of five km of the station,” a railway spokesperson said. The facility is being launched at Aluva, Ernakulam Town, Kanyakumari, Kottayam, Nagercoil Jn, Ernakulam Jn, Kulitturai, Varkala Sivagiri, Alappuzha, Chengannur, Kayamkulam Jn, Kollam Jn, Thiruvalla, Thrissur, Thiruvananthapuram Central, Changanassery, Guruvayur and Kochuveli stations.

“The app is expected to benefit around one lakh daily unreserved ticket users in the division and help them avoid the queue. Helpdesks will be set up at railway stations with the active participation of passengers' associations to familiarise passengers with its features and to facilitate its installation,” the spokesperson said.