Waitlisted passengers will soon get status messages in their mobile phones if their tickets get confirmed before 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 waitlisted ticket status. Others get to know the status of their tickets only after reaching stations.
"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, the technological arm of Railways, is making the software for the SMS-based service.
IRCTC has already launched a system for booking tickets using mobile phones.