CRIS develops new “Mobile App” to track Train Schedules
Centre for Railway Information Systems, the information and technology arm of railways, has launched a new mobile application which can be used for various enquiries including train timings, a senior Railway official said.
CRIS has enhanced the train enquiry system by developing the mobile app and a desktop application on Windows 8 platform for train enquiries with support from Microsoft, he added.
National Train Enquiry System is railways’ back-end system which provides information to the public about train schedules on a near real time basis through various interfaces like nationwide unique rail enquiry number 139, website (www.trainenquiry.com), mobile interfaces, touch screens, enquiry counters and display boards at stations.
An interface of NTES website along with a mobile version of it was launched in September 2013 earlier which has proved to be quite useful for train passengers, said the official.
Among the many features of the new mobile app is the ‘spot your train’ feature which offers information such as its current position, expected time of arrival and departure at a particular station. The ‘Train Schedule’ feature provides complete schedule of a train with all stoppages enroute and its scheduled arrival/departure at the station, distance and day count.
In ‘Trains between Stations’ query, one can find out the list of all types of trains available between any two stations on railway network. The mobile App also has ‘Cancelled Trains’ option which displays all trains marked as cancelled. It displays trains which are cancelled through the entire route as well as trains which are cancelled on partial route. Besides, it also provides features for query on rescheduled and diverted trains. The App has been launched for Windows 8.0 phones and will be further developed for other mobile platforms.
A strong need was felt for launching the mobile app with richer user interface keeping in view the current technology trends and which can be downloaded on the device and comfortably made use for train running related enquiries.
- To download the app, go to windows store and search for NTES app. App will be listed. Select NTES app and click to install.
- Link also has been provided on NTES website (www.trainenquiry.com and enquiry.indianrail.gov.in) to download the App.
The current Mobile application has the following main features:-
“Spot your train” – This query offers information about a train. Current running status, expected time of arrival/expected time of departure (ETA/ETD) at the queried station can be easily known through this query.
“Live Station” – This query has been given to replicate the display boards at station. One can see the trains expected to arrive/depart at any station in next 2 or 4 hours.
“Train Schedule”-This provides complete schedule of a train with all public stoppages enroute and schedule arrival/departure at the station, distance and day count.
“Trains between Stations” – One can find out the list of all types of trains available between any two stations over Indian Railways.
“Cancelled Trains” – This query displays all trains marked as cancelled on Indian Railways. The option displays trains which are cancelled through entire route as well as trains which are cancelled on partial route.
“Rescheduled Trains” -This query displays all trains marked as rescheduled on Indian Railways. The option displays trains’ rescheduled timings.
“Diverted Trains” – This query displays all trains marked as diverted on Indian Railways.
CRIS, has constantly been involved in taking new initiatives and developing various applications for Railway users and interfaces for general public to provide quality information about train running and other services with enhanced user experiences. Member Traffic, Railway Board, Shri D.P.Pandey while reviewing the IT projects with MD/CRIS and other officers of Railway Board and CRIS on 22nd April, 2014 appreciated the Mobile app developed by CRIS and expressed his hope that the app will be well received by mobile users and will certainly add great value to the services.
