The first node that comes in the mind of any customer regarding Pakistan Railways is its chaotic situation and never ending queues especially at the ticket counter. According to ministry of railways, it is the responsibility of Pakistan Railways to provide fast, affordable and comfortable railway transport to the customers. Due to the recent and sorry condition and mismanagement of this department, people tend to avoid traveling through train. But like all other institutions, Pakistan Railways is also working on new plans to upgrade its department by adding more resources and modern features. As a result, they launched their own e-ticketing service yesterday.

While briefing the audience about the system, Director of Information Technology, Fahad Rizwan stated:

“Pakistan Railways and United Bank Limited (UBL) have signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) to issue E-ticketing to people two months ago and the project has been completed within a stipulated period”

Purpose of e-ticketing

Pakistan Railways has launched its e-ticketing system with an aim to assist the passengers. You can now book your tickets online from www.pakrail.gov.pk. Minister of Railway, Khawaja Saad Rafique officially announced this service yesterday at Pakistan Railways’ Head Office, Lahore.

The e-ticketing system will enable passengers to book their tickets through internet and mobile phones. Payments can be made through credit cards, debit cards, mobile banking accounts or UBL Omni. Once booking is done and payment is made, a confirmation message will be sent to the user which will comprise of key details including ticket number, coach number, seat number, identity card number, and complete date of travel.

It is pertinent to mention that the service is currently available for Lahore-Rawalpindi route and Islamabad-Karachi Green Line train. It is hoped that e-ticketing service will be available across all stations very soon.

Many newspapers published this news as a positive feat in Pakistan Railways kitty which indeed it is. Furthermore, Pakistan Railways also provided a complete road map on the proper utilization of e-ticketing service. However, there are some minor issues in this service which can be resolved by addressing them properly to higher authorities.

Possible concerns

Even though many people have access to mobile phones, they still lack knowledge or experience of using internet services. Moreover, most of the people do not have any email address, credit or debit cards to buy tickets online. And above all, if at any time the mobile’s battery dies while travelling; it would be difficult to use this e-ticket.

Do you think printable e-tickets would be great in terms of its authenticity?

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