For all those who prefer booking railway e-tickets instead of standing in long queues at the counter, the latest decision taken by the Railway Board will make the job much easier.

Now, you do not even have to worry about taking print outs of the tickets in the last minute. You will be allowed to travel if you display the SMS sent to you by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) to confirm your ticket.

The railways had earlier decided to consider the screen shot of the e-ticket displayed on laptops and mobile phones –– referred to as Virtual Reservation Message and Mobile Reservation Message –– as valid and on a par with Electronic Reservation Slip, provided the passenger had a valid ID proof.

With the decision to allow SMS as a valid form of ticket, the railway officials have specified few mandatory features to go with it. The SMS will be considered as your ticket,  only if the SMS is sent by the IRCTC, contains all vital details such as the PNR, train and berth numbers along with the passenger’s name and the amount paid for the ticket.

Passengers whose tickets are confirmed or are under RAC, those who have valid ID proof and passengers whose names are displayed on the chart will be authorised to travel. Voters ID, passport, driving licence, PAN Card, photo ID cards having serial number issued by the Central and State governments, students’ ID card with photograph issued by recognised schools and colleges, nationalised bank passbook with photograph, credit cards issued by banks with laminated photo and the Aadhaar card can be produced as proofs.

The SMS will have to be displayed during the onboard and off board checking at the railway station. The passenger will invite penalty if he is not able to display the SMS either due to loss of mobile phone or because the battery is dead.