Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Reservation counters witness net fall

With the possibility of ticket reservation either through the internet or private agencies, the rush of passengers at the railway
reservation centre has declined, compared to the last financial year. There is also a resultant decline in the number of passengers as well as the revenue earned from them.

Information reveals that in 2007-08, the authorities collected around Rs 53 crore from about 14 lakh passengers, but in 2008-09, the number of passengers reduced to around 10 lakh, from which the department recovered Rs 44 crore.

Besides, at one reservation counter, 332 passengers got their tickets booked in one shift and the per counter income was around Rs 1,23,000. However, residents find getting tickets booked through the internet more beneficial as it is not a cumbersome process and saves them from exertion.

Karuna, a passenger, said, “It is better to book tickets through internet. The railway authorities have provided these for people’s convenience so that they can easily get their tickets reserved. Passengers also opt to book their tickets as it is not a time-consuming process.” At the city reservation centre, people have to wait in long queues to get their tickets reserved. “But, now, they can get the booking done sitting at home,” she added.

Speaking on the condition of anonymity, a railway employee at the reservation centre, said, “The authorities should try to decrease the rush of passengers at the centre. He said though it had decreased from the past one or two years, more alternatives should be made available to the public, so that they are not hassled, while getting tickets reserved.”

“It’s not that we don’t want to serve the general public, but shortage of staff has made things difficult. We need adequate staff to open all the counters so that passengers are attended to properly,” he added. Meanwhile, Dharmendra Kumar, senior divisional commercial manager, said, “The rush of passengers is decreasing at the centre because they have various options with them.” He said technology has made life easy and passengers wanted to make use of it. “The rush of passengers would also decrease at post offices once new counters are opened,” he added.

source:http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com




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