Booking rail tickets just a swipe away at Kovai, Erode and Salem

With the changing scenario and deadline for depositing demonetised currencies fast approaching, reserving tickets at the counter is also increasing. It is also increasingly difficult for the staff at the railway ticket counter and passengers to obtain change.

“Online ticket reservation is picking up every year. But there is a large section of the society that still prefers to book tickets across the counter for several reasons. We observed that debit and credit card usage is on the rise after unavailability of currencies in lesser denominations. 

So, to stay in pact with the Prime Minister’s ‘Digital India’ goal, the Salem Railway Division has introduced cashless transaction across the counter,” a senior official said. The official told DTNext that in the recent past the division has installed seven Point of Sale (POS) machines through the State Bank of India. It includes four credit card and three debit card POS machines in the Coimbatore, Erode and Salem junctions as they attract a major share of the bookings across the counter. 

“Two credit card and a debit card machines have been installed in Coimbatore. Two machines (a credit card and a debit card machine) have been installed at the Salem and Erode junctions,” the official said. They are expected to reduce time spent by passengers at the reservation centres and enable speedy disbursal of tickets. Stating that this is only a trial run, the official said that they would be installing 15 more POS machines in other stations in the division based on priority and demand.