A senior Railway Ministry official said the waitlisted passenger will get a SMS about the status of the ticket on the mobile phone number given at the time of ticket booking before the journey.

Waitlisted passengers will soon get status messages on their mobile phones if their tickets get confirmed before their train journey.

A senior Railway Ministry official said the waitlisted passenger will get a SMS about the status of the ticket on the mobile phone number given at the time of ticket booking before the journey.

Currently, one has to either dial the enquiry number 139 or use the Internet to know the status of the waitlisted ticket.

Others get to know the status of their tickets only after reaching the respective station.

"Once the SMS-based service is operational, passengers will get the updated status of their waitlisted tickets automatically," the official said, adding "only those passengers will get the message whose tickets get confirmed."

CRIS, which is the technological arm of Railways, is making the software for the SMS-based service.

IRCTC has already launched a system which allows passengers to book tickets using mobile phones.

PTI