Pune Railway Division in India’s Maharashtra state has installed palm vein scanners in a bid to end the problem of ticket touts clogging up train stations with queues. Before buying a ticket, commuters will now have to collect a coupon after enrolling at palm scanners placed outside, as was reported by mid-day news. The coupon can be used to buy six train tickets. Meanwhile, commuters can print up to three coupons a day, ensuring that no one can book more than 18 tickets a day.
Passengers take these coupons to specified reservation counters inside the reservation office (only people holding coupons can enter) – where queuing has been reduced due to the avoidance of touts buying up dozens of tickets. “The new system is really effective and streamlines the process. It’s very impressive and the way it has been handled by the railway officials is amazing,” Rajesh Singh, an Undri resident said.
The biometric identification is also planned to help the division keep track of passengers and the number of tickets they are reserving. Yogendra Singh, PRO, Pune railway division, said, “The biometric system has been put in place to stop the entry of touts. We have installed two machines, each at the cost of Rs 1.5 lakh. We are also planning to install the system at Shivajinagar, Khadki and Pimpri stations in the coming days.” Since 2008, some Indian train stations have introduced palm vein scans developed by Fujitsu India that establish the identity of drivers, with the device also integrating a breath analyser that checks alcohol levels.
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