Lok Sabha Question No. 3185 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2018-03-14
Subject: Cashless Ticket Booking
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3185 TO BE ANSWERED ON 14.03.2018

## CASHLESS TICKET BOOKING

## †3185. SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  the  manner  in  which  cashless  transaction  scheme  is  being implemented in the Railways;
- (b) whether ATM is being used for booking reserved ticket and if so, the details thereof;
- (c) the number of persons who have booked tickets through ATM since the roll out of cashless transaction scheme;
- (d) whether ticket booking amount has been refunded to people on time in case of ticket cancellation; and
- (e) if not, the reasons for delay?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI RAJEN GOHAIN)

(a) to (e): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3185 BY SHRI KRUPAL BALAJI TUMANE TO  BE  ANSWERED  IN  LOK  SABHA  ON  14.03.2018  REGARDING CASHLESS TICKET BOOKING

- (a):  Following  schemes  have  been  introduced  for  promotion  of cashless transaction on Indian Railways:-
- i. The  facility  of  online  booking  of  reserved  tickets  has  been provided through Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation  (IRCTC)  website.  The  payment  for  tickets  booked through  IRCTC  website  is  made  through  various  cashless modes  such  as  net  banking,  through  credit/debit  cards,  cash cards  and  e-wallets.  To  incentivise  payment  through  digital means,  service charge  on online booking  of tickets  was withdrawn for the tickets booked from 23.11.2016. The facility has been extended upto 31.03.2018.
- ii. Indian Railways have tied up with State Bank of India to install 10,000  Point  of  Sale  (POS)  machines  at  various  locations  of Indian Railways i.e. Passenger  Reservation System  (PRS)/ Unreserved  Ticketing  System  (UTS)  ticket  booking  counters and Parcel/Goods locations.
- iii. Booking of tickets through mobile phone has also been introduced wherein payment can be made through credit/debit cards, net banking, e-wallets etc.
- iv. Service charge applicable on transactions against credit/debit cards for purchasing journey tickets at UTS/PRS counters has been withdrawn.
- v. International credit/debit cards issued outside India are accepted for booking of e-tickets through IRCTC website.

- vi. Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs) have been introduced to facilitate  sale  of  unreserved  tickets  which  have provision of payment through smart cards.
- vii. 0.5% discount is given on purchase of season tickets through digital means with effect from 01.01.2017 upto 31.03.2018.
- viii. An optional travel insurance scheme with coverage of ` 10 lakh each had been launched at premium of ` 0.92 per passenger for those passengers who purchase their online e-ticket  (RAC/confirmed  ticket  holder)  from  IRCTC  website. Subsequently,  this  insurance  scheme  is  being  offered  free  of cost  from  10.12.2016  and  has  been  presently  extended  up  to 31.08.2018  for  those  passengers  who  purchase  their  online e-ticket (RAC/confirmed ticket holder) from IRCTC website.
- ix. 5% discount is given for digital payment of catering services on Indian Railways. This scheme  has been extended up to 31.03.2018.
- x. Provisions  have  been  made  in  new  Catering  Policy  2017  for installation  of  facility  of  cashless  transaction  viz.  POS/Swipe machine etc. in all the mobile and static units.
- xi. 5%  discount  is  given  on  online  payment  made  for  availing services like online booking of retiring rooms with effect from 01.01.2017.

- xii. It has been decided to provide 5% discount on the total value of basic fare in PRS reserved counter ticket subject to maximum amount  of  discount  on  a  ticket  of ` 50  for  payments  made through Unified Payment Interface (UPI) including Bharat Interface for Money (BHIM) subject to value of ticket being ` 100 and more.
2. (b)  &  (c):    A  Memorandum  of  Understanding  was  signed  in  August 2006 with State Bank of India and subsequently with other banks for installation of Automated Teller Machines(ATMs) along with e-ticketing  kiosks  at  identified  stations  for  booking  of  reserved tickets through internet.  No tickets are being booked through these e-ticketing kiosks since November 2013 as the facility was closed by Banks due to technical issues.
3. (d)  &  (e):  Refund  against  cancellation  of  ticket  purchased  from  the booking counter is paid at the counter whereas online ticket is to be cancelled through IRCTC website and the refund amount is credited to  the  bank  account  of  the  passenger  from  which  the  booking transaction was done. Normally Zonal Railway is expected to finalize a  refund  claim  within  16  days  which  includes  cases  where  Ticket Deposit Receipt (TDR) is required to be filed in special circumstances viz.  cancellation  of  trains,  etc.  However,  the  case  is  to  be  settled finally within 3 months  keeping in view that in  some  cases verification  of  claim  is  required  to  be  carried  out  by  the  Zonal Railway. However, there would be some cases where the time may be exceeded  due  to  non-verification of the claim for lack of supporting documents.

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