Indian Railways removes its app's distance limit for purchasing unreserved tickets

Indian Railways has removed the distance requirement for purchasing unreserved tickets (UTS) and platform tickets through its mobile app. The method is now more convenient for passengers since they may purchase tickets from any station, regardless of where they are.

This modification intends to make purchasing tickets easier and shorten lines at ticket booths, particularly for local train users who use them frequently.

A news report quoted Saurabh Kataria, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager as saying that the railway passengers can now get unreserved and platform tickets without stepping out of home.

Prio to this, there was a restriction of outer border geo-fencing distance of 50 km radius for booking tickets. Now the restriction has been removed and railway passengers can book unreserved tickets from anywhere with a smartphone and an internet connection.

This will facilitate train travelers in cities like Mumbai where several millions of people travel through local trains. Earlier, passengers could only purchase paperless tickets for suburban trains within a radius of 20 km and 50 km for non-suburban trains. The new changes could further spur online booking of tickets, reducing long queues at ticket counters on railway stations.

However, the laws on the inner limits remain unchanged, which permits purchase of tickets near railway station property. According to reports, presently around 25 percent of commuters use the UTS app to buy online tickets.