IBA developed an online ticket sales system for Belarusian Railway (BR). The system enables holders of bank cards to book and buy tickets for Belarusian and international trains via internet. Currently, the first stage of the system is in the operation testing phase.

The system is based on the IBM JS23 Blade server and operated by AIX operating system. The application software functions in the IBM WebSphere Application Server environment, and DB2 is used as a database.

The first stage of the system will allow for retrieving information, namely ticket availability, ticket cost, and train timetable online from the Express 3 automated management system. Implementation of the second stage of the system will allow for booking railway tickets and making payments through the internet banking system of Belarusbank. Further development of the system implies payment for railway tickets through Belarusbank Information and Transaction Terminals and SMS banking.

Andrey Kashko, Head of the BR Passenger Service Department, comments: “We plan to launch this innovative system this year and to enable our customers to buy train tickets online”.

Belarusian customers can book railway tickets in most of the Belarusian cities. Last year, 29.3 thousand railway tickets were booked in Belarus online. A railway ticket may be booked from 45 to 3 days before the train departure.