Indian Railway is very slow in adopting and promoting all information technological developments particularly which are for benefits to the passengers. This starts from booking of ticket form IRCTC website.
Officially, online booking platform starts booking of Tatkal ticket at 8.00 hours but it never happen before 8.05 hours and that too with several failures.
The ticket booking service has no sufficient user capacity. At peak time, it collapse generally and users have to face several log – in failures, booking failures, payment failures, payment confirmation failures, and even printing failures.
In the process of online ticket booking, Indian Railway save its energy and money; booking clerk, queue space, time consumption, printing stationery amenities provided for public but it charge extra money from passengers.
General public are required to pay usual fare, service charges to online booking platform, banking companies and required to get ticket printed failing which penalty of INR50.00 along with several harassments by railway’s officials; all this is nothing but open loot except usual ticket fare.
See, first, online booking platform help Indian Railways more than its passengers, so it should be free of cost. Secondly, in all shopping from merchants, we are not required to pay any extra charges for credit / debit card uses, because card uses save cash handling cost and real-time money transfer to the merchant accounts. Unfortunately, Indian Railways do not want to understand this simple calculation or do not want to pass this benefit to stakeholders. Thirdly, why printing of this ticket is required? As per Indian Railways rules passengers has to carry with him a proper photo – identity card to prove that he is intended passenger and railways officials has record of all passengers. Why print – out of ticket is required at the cost of passenger and at the cost of environment. Passenger has its PNR number in SMS / E-Mail and seating details, if not may write at a plain paper.
Indian Railways officials claim that print is required to check without ticket passengers. This should not be at the cost of passengers and environment. Usually print –out taken by passengers are on A4 size paper which is almost four times bigger than original or required ticket size. Indian Railway may issue small ticket size paper slips to actual passengers on boarding into train after establishing their identity.
Hence, I request:
- Abolish of charges for using online ticket booking platform,
- Abolish bank charges by arrangement between Indian Railways and banks,
- Abolish print – outs of online tickets,
- Abolish penalty for not carrying print – outs of tickets
- Promote environment friendly user-friendly more interactive online ticket booking platform.
AishMGhrana 