Soon a single railway app to book tickets, track trains! Indian Railways plans to introduce a comprehensive ‘Super App,’ merging various services currently scattered across its multiple mobile apps. A senior government official has revealed that this initiative aims to streamline user experiences by consolidating ticketing, train tracking, and other railway services, eliminating the need for numerous app downloads by railway users. The development of this unified app will be undertaken by CRIS, the IT arm of the railway ministry.
According to an ET report, the Super App intends to combine the functionalities of existing apps like Rail Madad, UTS, and National Train Enquiry System. It also aims to incorporate services such as PortRead, Satark, TMS-Nirikshan for operations, and well-known standalone apps like IRCTC Rail Connect, IRCTC eCatering Food on Track, and IRCTC Air for flight bookings. Rail Madad caters to complaints and suggestions, while National Train Enquiry System helps track the status of a train for commuters.
Among the existing apps, IRCTC Rail Connect stands out as the most popular, boasting over 100 million downloads and being the sole platform for reserved ticket bookings. Meanwhile, UTS, with over 10 million downloads, focuses on offering platform tickets and season passes.
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Officials stress the importance of leveraging this unified platform for monetization while considering user feedback for app enhancement. “While designing the super app, potential for monetisation of eyeballs must be kept at the forefront. Bringing the existing successful standalone apps to a common platform must create value,” an official was quoted as saying.
The estimated cost for the development and operation of this new Super App over a period of three years is approximately Rs 90 crore.
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In the fiscal year 2023, Rail Connect accounted for about half of IRCTC’s total ticket bookings ( 560,000 train tickets bookings), showcasing its significant user base and impact. The rest were from the IRCTC website.
