Indian Railways has set the stage for next generation technological applications in the reservation system. The Railways is planning to launch ticket reservations from the mobile phones of the customers. At present Indian Railways is accepting the mobile versions of the reservation numbers and photos taken thorough cell phones also can be used as proof of reservation. In an effort to protect the environment and saving energy, the Indian Railways is coming up with mobile reservation of tickets. The Indian Railways is also proposed to start a new website for ticket reservations.
The process of mobile reservation will involve simple steps. Passengers have to initially register with IRCTC website at www.irctc.co.in and should download mobile booking software from the website. After installing the software, mobile phone users can book a ticket through their phone. The Indian Railways have already successfully implemented an initiative to take a photo of the tickets on the mobile phones instead of print outs. Passengers now can show the mobile photo to ticket collectors or ticket checkers on long distance trains. The Indian Railways is presently implementing M-Ticket Service for bookings through Mobile SMS.
The mobile booking service is going to be implemented by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). The IRCTC is a government owned company and solely responsible for all e-ticket bookings for Indian Railways. After booking the tickets through mobile phones, the concerned passenger will receive a reservation message to his phone with full details of the ticket including PNR, Train No, date of journey, reservation class etc. The passengers need to take print out or mobile photo of the ticket as the ticket will be visible on their phone after mobile booking
Passengers can just show the reservation message of the confirmed ticket received on their mobile phones during travel. This will be sufficient for your travel. The passengers can downloaded the software from the IRCTC website www.irctc.co.in OR www.indianrail.gov.in . There is a service charge for mobile ticket as well. This will be on the lines of e-tickets. The present chargers are Rs.10 for Sleeper Class and Rs.20 for other higher classes. The software will be available to the public once the service is launched by IRCTC.