IRCTC SMS Tickets Accepted. Ticket Free Travelers Rejoice!

IRCTC aka The Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited has taken a step ahead to make the Indian Rail's 'Go Green' dream come true. The corporation is rapidly taking steps to bring the much awaited change to the railway travelers in India by changing the system that's in place since the inception of railways in India. Until now, every passenger had to carry a print copy of the e-ticket booked online along with the ID proof. IRCTC would even deliver the printouts of the tickets to your doorsteps if you booked the tickets in advance. But the latest development will change all of that. According to the latest release on #-Link-Snipped-#, an SMS sent by IRCTC official website will serve as a valid ticket! You no longer have to worry about forgetting tickets at home.


IRCTC SMS Ticket

The ERS aka Electronic Reservation Slips were replaced by Virtual Reservation Message aka (VRM); which allowed passenger to show the screen-shot of the e-ticket through digital devices. The VRM + Recognized Photo ID would suffice as an alternative to ERS. But now, just an SMS with all the vital details should act as your ticket! You will still have to carry proof of identity along with the SMS.

Those who're planning to use this facility should make sure that the SMS sent by IRCTC contains: PNR, Train Number, Date of Journey, Class, Name & Number of Passengers, Coach & Seat Number and Fare paid. If the SMS is unable to accomodate the names of passengers then it will have the number of passengers traveling. The proof of identity could be anything among: Passport, #-Link-Snipped-# card, Voter Photo ID, PAN card, Driving License, Photo ID Card with Serial Number issued by central/state government, college/school ID card, nationalized bank provided passbook with photo, credit card with photograph etc.

Our opinion: We're quite excited by this move taken by IRCTC. Carrying a print-out when you had booked the ticket online looked bit stupid; but not anymore. Considering the volume of passengers handled by IRCTC, this move will definitely help in reducing the paper usage. Have you used this facility? We're interested in knowing your experience.