Six public sector Indian banks have agreed a deal with railway operators to roll out ATMs that dispense tickets at stations across the country.
According to local press reports, State Bank of India, Canara Bank, Punjab National Bank, Dena Bank, Union Bank of India and Bank of Baroda plan to install over 1000 of the dual purpose ATMs select railway stations across the country.
Around 190 ATMs will be installed in stations run by the Central Railway (CR), while around 193 units will be deployed at Western Railway (WR) stations.
Reports say that State Bank of India will install 681 of the new ATMs across the country, including 300 at smaller stations. Denar bank plans to introduce the units at 117 railway stations, including all metro services and several of Mumbai's suburban stations. Union Bank of India will be installing 66 ATMs across ten centres in the country and Bank of Baroda plans to roll out 201 machines.
In February 2007, State Bank of India ordered ATMs with rail ticketing capabilities from American vendor NCR.