Using the GO Mumbai Smart Card on the suburban railways

Update (2011-06-03): This post is no longer valid as the railways have now withdrawn the usage of the GO Mumbai (B.E.S.T.) Smart Card on the railways.  The railway ATVM card continues to  see popular  usage.
 
This post is a follow-up to the others related to the Mumbai Smart Card (see other posts here, here, and here). I see from the hits on this blog that some people are searching for information on how to use the SmartCard on the suburban railway section. Though this is a bit late (I was busy), here is the information about how to use the SmartCard on the suburban lines. Please do read the cons as well (scroll below) before deciding to use this.

The B.E.S.T. SmartCard (also known as the "GO Mumbai SmartCard") can be used on Mumbai Suburban railway lines too. However, there are some things that are important in this regard. I will first explain the way the card is supposed to be used. Then, I will list down the cons in using it this way. (Oh! this style of writing, I picked up while writing my technical reports and thesis...it'll take me sometime to get rid of it).

At the outset, let me tell you that the "GO Mumbai SmartCard" is NOT the same as the "ATVM (Automatic Ticket Vending Machine) Card" also used on the suburban railways.

The steps in using the Card for suburban rail travel are:

• Get yourself a Card, if you do not yet have one. The SmartCard issued by the B.E.S.T. will also do; the same card can be used for travel on the B.E.S.T. buses as well as the suburban railways.
• Fill the Card with some denomination from any "GO Mumbai" outlet ("Go Mumbai" outlets are stalls present at prominent railway stations or at major B.E.S.T. bus depots). If the SmartCard is already being used for the bus travel, then the Card will be "partitioned" to hold the railway data separate from the bus data. That is, the bus routes will not be overwritten, and can still be used.
• Now, to use the Card during suburban railway travel one needs to do the following (note that the usage of the Card on the buses do not change - the below steps are only for the rail travel):
  
• At the station where the train will be boarded, locate the "Card Swipe" machine. Usually, there are 2 machines: one for First Class, the other for Second (normal) Class. Place the SmartCard on the panel on the machine. The machine will automatically deduct from the Card the maximum travel fare applicable from that station, and also record on the Card the boarding station.
  If there is not enough money in the Card, the display will show a message.
  
• These machines are usually near the entrance to the platforms (not near the usual ticketing counters, but closer to the platforms).
  
• The train can then be boarded without buying a ticket.
  
• At the destination station, place the Card at the "Card Swipe" machine. The "Card Swipe" machine then "adjusts" the fare - that is, if excess fare was deducted, it will be refunded back to the Card.
• The ticket checkers are being given SmartCard readers so that they can check if the passenger had really swiped the Card.

Okay, that's the semi-official version. Now, here are the cons (also, reasons why I do not use the SmartCard for suburban railway travel):

1. The shocking news: This is valid only on Central Railway suburban section yet. Though, officially, its supposed to be applicable to both, the Western Railways have not yet officially recognized the SmartCard. Be ready to pay a hefty fine if you travel on the Westernl line with this Card. See this article for more details.
   
2. The pain: Knowing well how our railways and these machines would be maintained, there can be several problems. First, the machines might not work at all. If the machine at the source station does not work, at least you would know, and buy a ticket instead. On the other hand, if the machine at the destination station does not work, then you would have paid the maximum possible fare already. Now, it is unlikely that someone would run about trying to find how to get the refund of the fare.
3. Different machines might deduct fares differently for the same route. The problem here is that of keeping the fare system updated. Unlike the ATVMs, these Swipe machines are probably not centrally maintained. As a result, some of the machines may not have "up-to-date" fares or may even have incorrect fares.