Indian Railway plans to install 40,000 automated ticket vending systems

Kolkata: The West Bengal Electronics Industry Development Corporation Ltd (Webel) is looking at an Indian Railways contract for the supply of about 40,000 automated ticket vending machines (ATVMs) in a project that is slated to be initiated by the end of the year.

These ATVMs were devised by Webel through home-grown technological tests over three years of testing and experimentation.

ATVMs would function like automated teller machines (ATMs) for the Indian Railways. Passengers will be able to buy tickets, based on their demands, without the hassle of standing in line on the spot when these ATVMs are in place.

The project will take about two years to implement-over this period, about 20,000 ATVMs would be installed on metro and train stations.

This is not the first large-scale Indian Railways project that Webel is looking to acquire. Earlier, Webel was slated to acquire the contract for providing the Kolkata Metro with Smart Card.

The contract was worth in excess of Rs 41 crore.