HYDERABAD: The South Central Railway has decided to popularise the use of automatic ticket vending machines (ATVMs) and to boost the sale of smart cards among rail commuters in the twin cities. Towards this objective, it is organising a three-day awareness programme at all the railway stations in Hyderabad and Secunderabad from April 2 to 4.
The number of ATVMs, which were introduced in February 2010, has gone up to 67 and they are dispensing 5,525 tickets a day on an average at the 26 MMTS railway stations in and around the state capital.
SCR officials say that it is very convenient and time-saving for rail commuters to use ATVMs to buy tickets using the smart card. Yet, long queues are seen at general ticket booking counters. With the patronage for MMTS and other trains steadily growing, regular commuters will find it easier to buy tickets with the click of a button instead of standing in long queues at counters. Hence the decision to popularise ATVMs and smart cards.
During the three-day awareness campaign, senior officials of SCR will counsel passengers on operation of ATVMs and advantages of using the machines.
Supervisory counters at the MMTS stations issue smart cards with a minimum value of `70 which includes a security deposit of `50 and ticketing value of `20. The cards can be topped up to a maximum of `1,000 in multiples of `50.