Handheld devices to confirm wait-listed Rajdhani, Shatabdi tickets in Mumbai

From Tuesday, wait-listed passengers of Rajdhani Express and Shatabdi trains that operate from Mumbai will have a better chance of getting their seats confirmed.

The Western Railway (WR) is introducing hand-held terminals (HHT) to be operated by travelling ticket examiners (TTE) in these outstation trains for computerised on-board ticket checking and allotment of vacant berths. The confirmation of tickets will be possible as the passenger reservation system (PRS) will be synced with the devices and the examiners will be able to allot vacant berths to wait-listed passengers. The examiners will update the devices when they find such seats, which will then be immediately allotted to passengers who had booked from approaching railway stations.

The devices will also facilitate upgrading of charts. The collecting of excess fares, penalties and issuing of receipts to passengers will be provided directly from the devices. “The devices will first be introduced in premium trains and will help passengers confirm their tickets. The devices will also reduce the use of papers in outstation trains,” said Aarti Singh Parihar, senior divisional commercial manager, WR.

The concept of HHT was announced by then union railway minister Suresh Prabhu in 2016, who said it would bring transparency in the system. The cost of the device is Rs 30,000 and were initially introduced in Shatabdi trains that operated in North India.