Taking a big leap towards digitalisation, the Central Railway Mumbai Division has launched an app called 'CheckIn Master' for the ticket checking staff at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus (CSMT).
According to a statement from Central Railway, the app will help ticket checking staff to discharge their duties without any fear, as the App has OCR and QR code scanning features to check PRS and UTS tickets from a safe distance. The Central Railway (CR) has also provied handheld thermal guns to its staff for thermal screening of passengers.
"In the next phase which will be implemented soon, flap-based gates are being planned to be installed at entry/exit with automatic QR-code based ticket checking. This CheckIn Master App can be used for attendance and real time monitoring of ticket checking staff also. It is done under CSR from M/s Rural Electrification Corporation Ltd. (RECL) with zero cost to the Railway," CR said.
Recently, Mumbai division provided a neckband portable public address system to the ticket checking staff enabling them to communicate with passengers adhering to the social distancing. It is also helpful in guiding passengers at the station when they come to board the train.
On Thursday, while addressing a virtual press conference, Railway Board Chairman V.K. Yadav had said that the Railways will move towards airport-like contactless ticketing with QR code enabled tickets, which will be scanned on handheld devices and mobile phones across its stations and trains.
Yadav said that while 85 per cent of the train tickets are currently being booked online, this QR code will also be available for those buying tickets from the counter. "We have introduced a QR code system which will be placed on tickets. If one buys online, the code will be provided on the ticket. Even on window tickets, an SMS will be generated and sent on the mobile phone which will have a link and it will display the QR code when the link is touched," he said.
