IRCTC forays into mobile ticketing
New Delhi, Mar 15 (UNI) Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has forayed into the mobile domain to extend reach of its online train ticketing to the people by launching 'IRCTCmobile' in partnership with the US-based C-SAM, a company of management guru Sam Pitroda.
IRCTCmobile is a mobile ticketing application and will operate on Java-enabled handsets having GPRS connection.
IRCTCmobile has a rich and intuitive user interface and has been developed by Mr Pitroda's C-SAM Inc. based on its secure and patented Mobile Transaction Platform (MTP).
IRCTC's registered users will need to download IRCTCmobile by sending SMS to IRCTC. In response, IRCTC will send a WAP push message containing the URL for downloading the IRCTCmobile.
By accepting/clicking the WAP push message, IRCTCmobile gets downloaded and installed. Once installed, users can check availability of tickets, book tickets using credit and cash cards, check fare and train details, perform PNR inquiry and even view route.
At present, the facility is available only to book -i-tickets, which will be delivered at the postal address given by the user at the time of booking. IRCTC plans to enable e-tickets in subsequent phases through IRCTCmobile.
IRCTC MD P K Goel said, ''With the proliferation of the mobile as a ubiquitous device, this initiative will enable IRCTC to reach further to the masses. Designed to provide a booking experience similar to the existing web-based booking, the service provides effective convenience to the users with the help of a reliable, saleable and secure product.'' Mr Pitroda, founder and chairman of C-SAM, said a large number of people travel by trains in India, and coupled with a boom in mobile usage, ''we believe IRCTCmobile will be able to deliver a variety of features and functionalities to the masses.'' This new feature will be available for all servive providers, including telecom companies and banks.
UNI