After experimenting for around two-and-a-half months, the authorities of Kolkata Metro Railway have extended the paper-based QR code ticketing system to Salt Lake Sector V station of East-West Metro Corridor now.

The system was first launched on an experimental basis at Sealdah Metro station of the East-West operational corridor on 11 October last year. After a trial of the paperbased tickets, the system was introduced last evening at the IT hub Metro station of the Green Line.

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The alternate ticketing system has been developed by the Railway Information Systems (CRIS). Earlier, on 1 January, Kolkata Metro’s token issuance system was affected in the morning hours due to a sudden software problem. As a result of the technical problem, tokens could not be issued from the counters and accepted at the AFCPC gates of all the stations of Blue Line, Green Line and Purple Line.

Apart from smart cards and mobile QR code tickets, the paper-based QR code tickets became one of the options for commuters availing Metro from Sealdah station on that day. According to the chief public relations officer of Kolkata Metro Railway, Kausik Mitra, all the AFC-PC gates of different stations of Green Line have been upgraded to make the new ticketing system implementable.

After monitoring the response of the commuters, the system will be implemented throughout the entire stretch of the corridor very soon. Later, depending upon the success of the system, the paper-based QR code tickets would gradually be implemented in Kavi Subhas to Dakshineswar and Joka to Taratala stretches of Blue Line and Purple Line respectively.