New Delhi, Aug. 9: Print your ticket and get on the train.

The railways have finally announced the launch of its electronic-ticketing pilot project from Friday.

Under the scheme, travellers to Kalka from New Delhi can board the Shatabdi Express with printouts of tickets booked on the Internet.

At present, tickets can be booked on the Net but no printouts can be taken. The tickets are later delivered by courier.

The scheme had earlier been announced by former railway minister Nitish Kumar but technical hurdles had stalled its launch.

E-ticketing means passengers need not carry the regular hard paper ticket. A printout of the electronic reservation slip will suffice, though passengers will have to carry a photo identity card.

Customers can avail the service from the website www.irctc.co.in by selecting the “E-ticket” option after logging in. While booking, the passenger has to give details of any one of these photo identity cards ? voters’ card, passport, PAN card, driving licence or central/state government-issued employee identity cards.

Even foreigners can book tickets with the help of their passport.

The payment options on the website will consist of Internet banking facilities offered by 15 major banks in India and also the existing cash card payment option.

The passenger has to carry the same photo identity card whose details are mentioned during booking along with the electronic reservation slip.

If a passenger does not have the slip with him but is carrying the identity card, he can continue the journey by paying a fine of Rs 50 to the ticket examiner, provided his name is on the chart.

A passenger must carry a platform ticket if he does not have the electronic reservation slip with him.

E-tickets can be cancelled only through the Net till the train’s chart is prepared, which is normally four hours before the scheduled departure from the starting station.

The cancellation will be confirmed online and the refund would be credited back to the account used for booking. If there is partial cancellation, the user will have to ensure that the modified electronic reservation slip is printed separately.