According to Airtel, commuters travelling by rail every day in India will now be able to dial *400# on Airtel mobile phones and enjoy the convenience of booking tickets through mobile phones via Airtel money.

PD Sarma, Hub CEO – WBO & NESA, Bharti Airtel Limited said, “Airtel money has been growing with every passing day due to its relevant use cases ranging from bill payments, recharges, money transfer."

Sarma said, "It is our constant endeavour to add options for our customers which appeal to a vast audience across geography and demography. Train travel is one of the most common modes of transportation for a lot of our customers."

"Our integration with IRCTC for ticket reservation is a step to empower our customers specifically beyond the urban footprint with the convenience of booking tickets without the need of holding a bank account or an internet connection," he added.

The company noted that the IRCTC mobile bookings through Airtel money is a simple, convenient, quicker and secure alternative to the conventional methods of booking via standing in reservation counter queues or booking it online. 

"The service works across all mobile devices, does not involve any data or SMS charges and uses a simple USSD (Unstructured Supplementary Service Data) technology that prompts users with interactive and guided menu options towards booking tickets," company officials said. 

"Through this service, customers can not only making ticket bookings but also search for stations, trains, availability, PNR enquiry, cancellation etc.," officials added.