Metro travel in Delhi to go truly cashless

Delhi Metro travel is set to go truly cashless soon. The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) plans to install technology that would allow automatic recharge of commuters' smart cards.

According to a DMRC spokesperson, DMRC was in the process of procuring AFC (automatic fare collection) gates with new technologies that would allow for automatic top-up of smart cards, which would be done through the bank accounts of the card holders' electronic clearance system (ECS).

The technology would enable the addition of pre-defined amounts by specific AFC gates, when the balance on a smart card gets depleted beyond a certain limit. The card holder's bank account would be later debited by the amount through the Metro fare collection system.

According to DMRC officials' claim the system would not only reduce cash transactions at the ticket counters but also help commuters avoid long queues for the recharge of their cards.

He added DMRC was also developing a new technology through which commuters would be able to recharge their smart cards through various options such as net banking, credit cards and debit cards.

It was procuring 'Add Value Machines' for recharging the smart cards at the stations through these systems. The official said the DMRC was in the process of finalising the technologies to be used for the facility.