5 useful apps for frequent Indian Railways passengers
In India, the railways are genuinely a lifeline for tourists. One of the busiest rail networks in the world, Indian Railways can count over 20 million passengers on any given day. Recent technological developments have greatly increased the country's convenience of rail travel. These are the top five smartphone apps you should have if you travel frequently.
IRCTC Rail Connect
The most popular Indian Railways app is the official IRCTC Rail Connect app. The app lets users book train tickets for various quotas, in a hassle-free and systematic manner. It also features boarding point change facility, option to check booking status, and cancellation of previously booked tickets. Boasting of a user-friendly interface, the app has more than 10 million downloads on the Play Store.
NTES: For all your enquires
NTES (short for National Train Enquiry System) is the go-to app for Indian Railways passengers for planning and managing train journeys. It lets users spot their train location, check train schedules, station information, all in real-time. Additionally, information regarding canceled, rescheduled, and diverted trains can also be known. Users can also use the app to manage 'favorite' trains, stations, and train-schedules.
UTS: For booking unreserved train tickets
To save passengers the hassle of standing in long queues to get a general ticket from counters, the Indian Railways launched the UTS app. The app allows passengers to book tickets within a radius of 25-30 meters from the railway station. Using the app, a person can book upto 4 tickets. Other than normal tickets, one can also book platform tickets and monthly passes.
Food on Track app
In order to make catering experience for railway passengers more convenient and enjoyable, IRCTC launched the Food on Track app. The app lets you order your favorite food from local restaurants, right from a railway station. Other features include food-search by PNR, easy cancellations, and OTP verification. Order payments can be made via cards or cash, as per the user's choice.
Ixigo Travel app
Ixigo is one of the most complete and comprehensive travel apps in India. The app features seamless travel bookings, and provides the pertinent information. Other salient features of the app are PNR status and prediction, train seat availability, train running status and alarms. With more than 10 million downloads, the app stands at an impressive user rating of 4.5 stars on Google Play Store.
