Railway Ticket : Gone are the days of waiting in never-ending queue at the railway station to buy general tickets. Indian Railways has changed the way people book tickets with its digital drive, the latest one being the ability to book unreserved tickets through your smartphones using a simple process. This is ideal for regular travelers, last-minute travelers and people who live in smaller towns where reservation counters often mean waiting for hours.
Though the convenience of the new process has been standing for a while now, many travellers do seem not to know about this simple solution or struggle with using the apps. We Wrote This Detailed Guide to make it easier for you to book mobile tickets and save your time.
Table of Contents
Know the UTS Mobile App: The Ticket Booking Counter on the Go
General tickets for travel on India’s extensive railway network are booked on the Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) mobile application. How it all began Available in 11 languages, with even its online version made to adapt to erratic internet connectivity, the official Indian Railways app has upturned the way millions access train travel.
Ramesh Kumar, who travels between Thane and CSMT in Mumbai daily, said, I used to spend at least 45 minutes on queues daily until I chanced upon the UTS app. Now I book while walking to the station and just show my screen when checking. It has saved me dozens of hours over the last year.”
How to book general ticket, step by step guide
There is a one time registration to book tickets on the mobile and then the process of booking is simple:
Initial Setup Process:
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Step 1: Get the App Download the app from Google Play store or Apple App store. Ensure that you download the official app, and not some third-party app that could potentially compromise the security of your data.
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Step 2: Sign up and Log In
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Open the app and choose your language of choice
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Tap ”Register” and provide your mobile number
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Confirm your number with the OTP you receive on your phone
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Then come up with your password (Use letters, numbers and characters in it).
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Enter basic profile details (name, gender, email ID, etc.)
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Step 3: Finish R-Wallet Setup R-Wallet is Railway Wallet – The payment gateway used in the app:
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Proceed to the R-Wallet Tab
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Add money through debit/credit cards, net banking, UPI, and net banking or use the platform for other digital payments.
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Deposit at least ₹100 to play basic ticket game.
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Maximum wallet balance should be ₹ 10,000 only”.
Sunita Patel, a school teacher in Ahmedabad, recalls, “In the beginning, I did face issues with R-Wallet but that was because I would try to book tickets without having any money.” Assign to memory that you need to pre-load the wallet before you try to book the tickets else you will end up in a pool of hot water.”
Booking Process:
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Step 1 – Log into UTS App Log in with your registered mobile number and password to see the Main Menu.
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Process 2: Go to the official Indian Railway homepage click on the option ‘Book Ticket’ and begin booking process: The homepage will have the “Book Ticket” link, click to proceed.
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Step 3: Select Ticket Type Choose from options like “Normal Ticket,” “Platform Ticket,” “Season Ticket” or “Quick Booking” (for frequent routes).
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Step 4: Enter Journey Details
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Choose the “From” station (The app is GPS enabled and can suggest stations near you)
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Select your arrival station
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Choose Date of Journey (Same Day booking or Advance booking up to 3 days)
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Your total number of passengers and whether they are an adult child or a child.
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Choose your ticket class (Second Sitting, General etc.)
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Step 5: Check Journey and Fare Details Read all details properly, as no changes can be made once booked. The fair will be shown in the app that you configured.
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Confirm Payment Confirm your payment with the pre-loaded R-Wallet balance. The money will be take off automatically.
Receive Digital Ticket After payment has been made successfully you can see your ticket on the screen with a booking ID. You can access it at any time by navigating to the “Show Ticket” section of the app.
Vikram Singh, who frequently travels between Jaipur and Ajmer, recommends: “Save a screenshot of the ticket with you as a backup, even if the app keeps your booking history. “You can have network problems at station areas, and you don’t want to get to the checks and be fumbling around to access your ticket.”
Exclusive Features that Make Booking on Mobile Better
The UTS app has a number of handy features to make booking as easy as possible:
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Fast Booking: Save your frequent destinations for a quick and easy one-tap booking.
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Paperless Ticketing Options: Mobile Phone paperless ticket (you will be required to show your ticket on your mobile) or Paper Ticket (You will need to print out your ticket when you get the booking ID).
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GROUP BOOKINGS: Book up to six passengers on one ticket and fly your whole family at the same time.
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Language support: Now available in 13 languages – Hindi, English, Tamil, Bengali and Marathi.
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Season Tickets: Repeat your monthly /quarterly passes on any counter without coming to the counter.
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Journey Planner: Return information on the next trains or connections quickly.
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Booking History: View all your previous bookings for reference and for accounting purposes.
Access features make sense for retired Lucknow banker Mohammed Iqbal, too: “At my age, standing in queues was difficult. I can once again travel on a train, getting accessibility back with both Hindi bookings and large text settings.I’m again able to book a ⒽOOOⓝnelle! I find the paperless option really handy, I would always forget to take a printout with me.
Railway Ticket Key Rules and Limitations to Be Mindful of
Although convenient, there are a few restrictions when using mobile booking:
Booking Radius Restrictions:
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“Booking from Anywhere” enables booking from anywhere
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This “Booking from Station” facility will not be made available to other destinations if you are not in 5 km of the originating station
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For e-Tickets, travel date should be up to 15 to 20 hours in advance as regular ticketing is not allowed for this train in above specified timings.
Travel Validity:
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Journey should begin within 1 hour of booking for suburban routes
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Non-suburban services: travel must commence within the hours of operation of the purchased day
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Advance tickets can be purchased 3 days in advance (72 hours)
Refund Policies:
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You can cancel your ticket online up to 30 minutes prior to the first train departing
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Refund value is given back in R-Wallet not in original payment gateway.
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Platform ticket and paper ticket booked through website cancelled after printing cancellation charges will apply.
Explains railwayman Suresh Nair, to avoid confusion: “Most passengers are not aware that the UTS app is for general tickets and the IRCTC app for reserved tickets. They are separate systems, though, and have different log-in credentials, so you will need both apps if you use both kinds of service.”
Railway Ticket Troubleshooting Common Issues
Users, sometimes, face difficulty while using the app. Here are answers to common questions:
GPS Location is wrong: If you are having trouble detecting your location, make sure GPS is enabled with high accuracy mode and grant the application location permission in your phone settings.
Payment Miseries: Users are also recommended to ensure that their wallet contains enough money and that their internet connection is working properly, while in case of failed R-Wallet transactions. If the money is debited, but ticket is not booked then refund is processed automatically in 24 hours.
Locked Accounts: Accounts that have too many failed login attempts can be locked for some time. After three or four tries, go to the “Forgot Password” prompt instead of repeatedly trying to log in.
App Crashes: Make sure to keep your app up-to-date with the newest version, outdated apps can sometimes have trouble with new Android or iOS software updates.
Ticket Display Problems: If tickets do not appear incase of unclear app use or recientant application. Make sure your phone has enough space.
Tech professionals Sarita Kumari advises: “Make a dedicated folder and take screenshots of the tickets and immediately verify all the details of the ticket once they’re booked. I once booked a ticket to the wrong place, and that was because I was rushing and didn’t look up the station name properly.”
Railway Ticket Beyond the Basics: Pro Tips for Regular Users
For those of us who travel regularly, here are a few extra tips that can help make it a little less punishing:
Use R-Wallet Wisely: Ensure you have enough R-Wallet balance for weekly travel expenses so that you don’t have to do last-minute top-ups. Set up a monthly reminder to verify and top up your balance.
Utilize Ticket Booking History for Travel Claims : The app saves a complete history of use which can be utilized for office reimbursements/travel claims or tax deduction purposes as applpicable.
Build for Two or More Daily travelers frequently create multiple personal and corporate profiles to keep spending in line.
Season Ticket Feature: Season ticket holders will receive reminders to renew and beat the queue at month-end.
Mobile ticket booking is just one of its many technological advancements, as Indian Railways takes the digital route. Real-time navigation and tracking of trains, and context-gradable multimodal transport planning are probable future extantions that may dramatically change the passenger travel experience.
For millions of daily commuters as well as occasional travellers, the convenience of being able to book regular tickets through their smartphones has already been the eradication of one of the great pain points in rail travel at the literal touch of a button.
