Vizag TTEs get handheld machines

Visakhapatnam: Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs) in Waltair Railway Division will no longer be required to carry reservation charts, as they are to be equipped with handheld terminal (HHT) devices to provide reservation status to passengers in a running train.

The HHT system was formally inaugurated by Divisional Railway Manager Anup Satpathy here recently with 78 HHTs were allotted to Waltair Division. Training is being given to TTEs for effective utilization of the devices.

Hand Held tablets were given to TTEs of Visakhapatnam- Bhubaneswar Intercity Express on Monday. The system will be expanded to cover all other trains in the division. At present, the berth position, availability status ticket checking and charts are maintained manually by TTEs and for this they have to carry paper reservation charts and refer to them each time to check a passenger ticket, or while allotting a berth.

The initiative to introduce charting of passengers through the HHT devices is aimed at paperless ticketing and charting systems that will also be helpful for finalisation of refund claims. With the use of the devices, which is an Information Technology initiative, the accommodation availability status on the running train will be available to all stations, including the approaching station, as the system will go online under the new system.

Speaking on the occasion Anup Satpathy said that the system would ensure greater transparency in the allotment of accommodation.

The other advantages of the system were automatic generation of occupancy charts for TTEs; automatic updation of Not-turned berths thereby enabling quicker refund to the passengers; availability of information of vacant berths on train at ensuing stations on the train route as well as on the internet and sending data of after charting cancelled passengers at every hour to the HHT devices avoid fraudulent travel after ticket cancellation, he said.