BENGALURU: A major step towards digitalisation was taken in the Bengaluru Railway Division during the last fortnight when the ticket-checking staff of three pairs of trains running between Bengaluru and Chennai and one pair to New Delhi began using the Hand Held Terminals (HHTs) for checks on board.
The terminals were deployed by Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs) on these four major trains departing from the City: KSR Bengaluru-Dr MGR Chennai Central Shatabdi Express, KSR Bengaluru-Dr MGR Chennai Central Lalbagh Express, Bengaluru-Dr MGR Chennai Superfast Express and the Yesvantpur-Delhi Duronto Express. The HHTs were used in the return direction too of all these trains.
A top railway official said that a proposal has been sent to the Division's headquarters in Hubballi seeking consent to add 8 more pairs of trains under the digital chart system. "The switch over to the environment-friendly move of electronic checking will benefit passengers as it ensures instant allotment of vacant berths as well as create transparency in berth allotment," said a top official.
While the digital chart was launched on July 25 inside the Shatabdi, it was used by TTEs in the Superfast Express and Lalbagh Express from July 18 and in the Duronto Express from July 16.
The reams of paper and the need to guard them carefully throughout the journey by the TTEs in briefcases have been done away with in these trains, he added.
Presently, 50% of staff in the commercial department have been provided training regarding usage of these terminals, another official said. Earlier, the Division had procured 165 HHTs and distributed them to checking staff on July 7. With the process of ticket checking getting simplified and faster, the productivity of TTEs will improve, he added.
These four trains are covered under Phase II of the digitalisation process. In the first phase carried out four years ago in the Division, the terminal was launched in only one train pair- the KSR Bengaluru-New Delhi Rajdhani Express.