RailOne App Update: Season Tickets Now Available for Family Members; Photo and QR Code Mandatory for Travel

Railway passengers can now book season tickets not only for themselves but also for family members or other individuals through the RailOne app. However, passenger identity verification will be important under this facility, and some changes have also been made to ticket-checking procedures.

The Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), under the Ministry of Railways, has issued guidelines in this regard. According to the guidelines, only a ticket containing the passenger’s photograph and a readable QR code will be considered a valid travel document.

Passengers will not be allowed to travel by showing only the invoice, booking receipt available in the RailOne app, or a copy of a UTS paper ticket.

Booking Season Tickets for Yourself and Others

Following approval from the Railway Board, the facility was introduced from September 2. A registered user can book one season ticket for themselves and up to five additional season tickets for family members or other individuals.

The existing facility for booking multiple tickets in the Mumbai suburban railway area will continue.

For a ticket booked for oneself, the validity will begin on the same day after the geo-fencing verification is completed. However, a season ticket booked for another person will become valid from the day after the booking date.

The minimum age to book a ticket for oneself is 18 years, while the beneficiary for whom the ticket is booked must be at least 5 years old.

Ticket Invalid if the QR Code Is Damaged

A shareable season ticket can be stored on a mobile phone in PDF format or as a printed copy. However, the ticket’s validity details and the passenger’s photograph must be clearly visible. The same information will also be embedded in the QR code.

The QR code will be the primary basis for ticket verification. Therefore, passengers must ensure that the ticket and QR code remain clear, intact, and readable during the journey.

If the QR code is found to be damaged, altered, unclear, or tampered with, the authenticity of the ticket cannot be verified. Such a passenger may be treated as travelling without a valid ticket and could be fined according to railway rules.

TTEs to Check Photograph and QR Code

CRIS has instructed zonal railways to train ticket-checking staff on the new procedure.

Under the new process, the TTE or other checking staff will first match the passenger’s photograph on the ticket with the actual passenger. If necessary, they can scan the QR code and verify the photograph and passenger details stored in it against the information on the ticket.

For this purpose, ticket-checking staff, station staff, and checking squads will have to use updated Hand Held Terminals (HHTs) equipped with QR-code scanning facilities.

While RailOne will make it easier to book season tickets for family members, passengers must ensure that they carry a valid ticket with a clearly visible photograph and readable QR code while travelling.

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