All catering stalls under Tiruchy railway division to have QR code-based payment system

TIRUCHY: The Tiruchy railway division has recently finished the coverage of QR code-based payment system at all catering stalls or food vending outlets under its jurisdiction. Officials said the move to promote a cashless payment system is getting good response from passengers.

According to officials, the facility is available in about 35 stations under the Tiruchy railway division. "There are about 150 railway station under the division. Out of these, catering stalls are available in 35 stations. All these stalls now have the digital payment facility," a railway official said.

Sources said Tiruchy is among the few railway divisions that has ensured digital payment facility in all catering stalls. Senior officials said that apart from this, Tiruchy is also the division where all vendors have identity cards with QR code. Passengers can verify whether they are authorised vendors or not by scanning the QR code on their identity card with a QR code reader.

"All authorised vendors under division have identity cards with QR code. This system will stop the entry of unauthorised vendors on trains and on the station premises. Our team is also conducting regular inspection to prevent the entry of such unauthorised vendors on trains and in the station. If passengers find
any vendor without identity cards selling food or other materials on trains or railway stations, they can report to our officials," an officer said.

Passengers have appreciated the division for ensuring the digital payment system in all the food vending stalls. "It is very convenient for the passengers. It would be a great help for long-distance passengers. We hope the division brings digital payment facilities in all the stalls at the stations," said TR Kumaran, a passenger from Thanjavur.

Meanwhile, some of the passengers said the railway should also consider conducting random inspection to ensure that vendors are not collecting more money from passengers.

"I paid about `20 for a bottle of Rail Neer (railway's drinking water). But, its MRP is only `15 and the vendor was not ready to return `5. Similarly, we don't know the price fixed by the railway for beverages or food served on trains by vendors. Apart from issuing identity cards, the railway should check for
such offences," said Gurumurthy K, a passenger from Coimbatore. Officials said they would direct their team to check the issues.