The state-owned railway company of India – Indian Railways is working to introduce a new service that will help the train travelers to access details long-distance train journey via simply dialing a number or through SMS. The Indian Railways has announced to introduce a paid 138 inquiry number to complement the currently in use free 139 number, in the coming three or four months.

According to the Indian Railways, the 138 service will be paid service for which registration will be required. The 138 service will help the travelers to get useful travel information, such as finding out their seat numbers, the platform number for a particular train, position of their coach, info on delayed trains, railway timetable, etc.

Senior official of the Indian Railways has told that the 138 service will also allow the travelers to book their hotels, tourist taxis and tours. The registration for the 138 service will be allowed either online or through mobile phones. The people in Delhi are already using the 139 number for these services, but the service will be shifted to 138 countrywide. The 138 service will be available through dialing the number or via SMS.   

Rakesh Tandon, MD, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), said, "The 139 service has been overloaded with inquires and it is impossible to start any new services on it. So we decided to start 138. We will have a tie-up with network providers.” Tandon added, "We are trying to get a number like 138 from which we can provide an array of special services for convenience of passengers like train delays."

He said "People travelling to different places in the country are interested in knowing whether their respective train is scheduled on time, which platform the train will halt and the position of their coach on the platform. Many passengers who do not have an access to internet want to make quick booking of taxis outside the station and get good hotel accommodation.

Tandon said, "We intend to introduce a service which will provide these and many more facilities for the passengers. This is likely to be introduced before the end of this year as it is being tried on experimental basis in New Delhi.”