Varanasi: Northeast Railway’s Varanasi Division has become the first division in Indian Railways to introduce the contractual Mobile-UTS Assistant service on a regular basis under the latest Railway Board policy.Implemented under the guidance of NER (Varanasi) divisional railway manager Ashish Jain and the leadership of senior DCM Prashasti Srivastava, the initiative marks a major step toward faster, more accessible unreserved ticketing for passengers.The service will reduce queues and waiting time at booking counters, improve access to ticketing within station premises and ease passenger movement during peak hours. It will particularly benefit senior citizens, women and passengers unfamiliar with digital platforms, while supporting better crowd management. The move reinforces the division’s commitment to convenient, inclusive and passenger-friendly rail travel.Earlier, the service had been tested only as a pilot project at select locations, including Chennai, Bengaluru, Mumbai, Howrah and New Delhi. Varanasi Division has now taken the lead by adopting it as a regular passenger amenity.Under a three-year contractual arrangement, eight mobile counters have been launched at five key stations including Banaras, Ballia, Mau, Chhapra and Siwan Junction.
