Tickets for long-distance trains can now be booked by punching in pre-assigned 16 digits on a landline or mobile phone, thanks to a tie-up between the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC) and some cash-card companies.

The facility, introduced in some cities on a trial basis six months ago, has been available in Calcutta since November 1.

“The railways has long been trying to popularise online booking, where payments can be made through a credit or debit card. But there are many who do not have an access to the Net. The new facility will help them,” a senior IRCTC official told Metro from Delhi.

Once the ticket is booked over the phone, text messages mentioning the PNR number can be sent for regular updates on the reservation status.

“There are cards of denominations ranging from Rs 100 to Rs 10,000, which can be bought by calling a helpline,” said Shekhar Srivastava, the vice-president (marketing) of ItzCash Card, an Essel Group company that has tied up with the IRCTC.

The card comes with a 12-digit identification code and a four-digit password, punching which a caller will have to establish his identity. After that, the executive handling the call will take down details of the journey and book tickets.

Itz cards can be booked either by calling 19013457575 (toll free) or by accessing the website of ItzCash Card. Once the card is procured, the customer is required to dial 139 to book tickets.

Other cash-card companies that have tied up with the IRCTC are Done Card and India Card.

Calls reach IRCTC call centres in Mysore, Calcutta, Noida and Ahmedabad, where the requests are processed. One can either take a printout from the website of the cash-card company or have it delivered at home.

Officials said not many were using the new service because they weren’t aware of it. “We are trying to promote the system whenever people are calling our helplines,” said an official.