Mumbai: The commuters can now get a relief from long queues, as they could soon buy tickets of local train from the automatic ticket vending machines (ATVM) using debit and credit cards. A senior railway official said they will soon install 31 point-of-sale (PoS) devices in the ATVM machines at the 22 Central Railway stations.
It will be another step towards a cashless transaction. “The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) tested the PoS devices for 12 months, Now, the upgraded and latest hardware-installed ATVM machines will benefit commuters, wanting to transact with credit and debit cards,” he said.
Dadar (central), Kurla, Ghatkopar, Panvel, Mulund, Kalyan, Thane, Dombivli, Vikhroli, Bhandup, Sion, Kanjur Marg, Mumbra, Badlapur, Kurla, Ulhasnagar, Vidyavihar, Ambernath, Nerul, Diva, Kalwa, Kharghar will have ATVM machines with PoS devices.
The official added the machines’ internal testing was underway. Different dimensions of the POS terminals and probable difficulties are also taken care of. “We started the trials in January. After a good response from commuters, we decided to install the machines at other 22 stations,” he added.
The move comes as most commuters use credit and debit cards. So, to buy a ticket from ATVM, the commuters will no longer need railway smart cards. “Railways are moving very fast towards total cashless transactions. Facilitating use of credit and debit cards for suburban tickets is one more step towards it,” said Sunil Udasi, CPRO, CR.
