New Delhi, March 18 (IANS) Indian Railways’ application RailOne App has been downloaded 2.57 crore times and averages 7.64 lakh ticket bookings daily, the government said on Wednesday.

Currently, around 88 per cent of reserved tickets are now booked online, Union Minister for Railways, Information & Broadcasting and Electronics & Information Technology Ashwini Vaishnaw, said in Lok Sabha.

In addition to the conventional modes of booking through counters, Indian Railways has introduced various technological solutions, such as the RailOne App, to help passengers book both reserved and unreserved tickets.

“The move brought the Passenger Reservation System (PRS) facility as well as Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) to passengers’ palms. The RailOne App has advanced security and privacy measures,” the statement from the Ministry of Railways said.

The application integrated reserved and unreserved ticketing, platform tickets, train enquiries, PNR status, Railmadad and grievance redressal into a single platform and can be downloaded from the Android Play Store and Apple App Store.

Further, passengers also have the facility to book reserved tickets through the app/website of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation.

Indian Railways engages a range of agents for ticketing including halt agents, Jan Sadharan Ticket Booking Sevaks, Station Ticket Booking Agents and M‑UTS Sahayaks for unreserved tickets. Yatri Tickets Suvidha Kendra Licensees help with reserved and unreserved tickets, the statement said.

There is no condition for having experience in issuing railway tickets for getting engaged as agents in these roles, it noted.

In addition, Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) engages E-ticketing agents for issuing reserved e-tickets.

These schemes are open to eligible individuals including educated unemployed youth and hence promote self-employment and improve access to railway ticketing facilities especially in rural and semi-urban areas.

Agents are appointed for a fixed tenure in accordance with the scheme’s terms and conditions and may be terminated for any breach of those terms. Renewal of appointments and the invitation of fresh applications upon expiry of tenure is a continuous and ongoing process, the statement noted.

—IANS

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