(a) whether the Railways have launched Go India smart card to enable passengers to pay for train tickets for long or short distance journeys in reserved and unreserved class including suburban services;
(b) if so, the details thereof; and
(c) the manner in which the same is likely to benefit the passengers?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI MANOJ SINHA)
(a) to (c): Yes, Madam. Go-India smart card scheme has been launched on pilot basis on two sectors i.e. New Delhi-Mumbai and New Delhi- Howrah. At present, the Go-India smart card enables passengers to pay for reserved and unreserved tickets. The smart card can be used at nominated Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS)/Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters and at Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs) on these two sectors for issuing tickets. The salient features of the Go-India smart card are as under:
# Initially, the card can be get issued by paying minimum `70/- where passenger will get `20/- balance. After that, card can be recharged for `20/- or in multiple of `50/- upto `5000/-.
# Maximum limit on Go-India smart card is `10,000/-.
# Go-India smart card has life time validity. In case of no usage in six months from the date of last transaction, smart card will be temporarily deactivated which can be activated again by paying `50/- as activation fee.
The scheme is intended to reduce the transaction time at the booking counters for the convenience of passengers as it facilitates cashless transaction.