Booking train ticket with a click of the mouse is no longer restricted to those having credit cards alone. One can reserve berth in train coaches online that too by making cash payment. Perhaps, this is the first initiative by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, who has emerged as the new management guru with people's perspective.

The Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has tied up with IT firm Sify to enable passengers to book tickets online from over 34,000 iWay cyber cafes across 154 cities in the country against cash payments.

Online railway ticket bookings on the IRCTC site has been available to customers who either have a credit card or a net banking facility, limiting the number of people who could actually use this facility.

The vast majority of Indians, however, still prefer to make cash payments for tickets, goods or services. So it was imperative that a means be found for the large number of Indians without a credit card or a net banking facility to be able to make online reservations for cash.

Mr P.K. Goel, Managing Director, IRCTC, said, "This path-breaking initiative is aimed at making railway e-ticketing easier and convenient for our customers across the country. For they no longer have to worry about using credit cards or having a net banking facility. Instead, they can simply make the online bookings and make convenient cash payment at Sify's iWays".

Mr Raju Vegesna, MD & CEO, Sify Limited, said, "It is the innovative solutions like this that will grow e-commerce in India and I am extremely pleased that we have been able to work with the IRCTC to make this possible".