Railways Reservation Systems - Inputs on Issues
The most important issue is concerned with the business of touts. Genuine passengers find all seats are full when they go to a reservation counter. They get waitlisted tickets, which rarely get confirmed. But a trip to the station on the appointed day and time will find that there are many seats vacant, yet the wait listed ticket is not confirmed. Excuses like 'those seats are for such and such station quota' will be given by the TTC. Once the train starts, the seats are 'sold' for a price.
The situation for the on-line system is no better. The system takes inordinately long to respond for every screen during a booking attempt and frequently hangs. Here too, tickets on popular trains are not available within 5 minutes of opening booking 60 days in advance. If you try the same thing thru say, Cleartrip, you will find the system much more fast! However tickets will be mostly waitlisted.
If you want a confirmed ticket on nay of the popular, hard to get trains, just approach a tout and your job will be done. Ticket will be in your name, not in the name of any stranger.....How??
The root cause is the ability to manipulate the online reservation system by the booking counter operators. There are many shortcuts the operators have discovered which allow them to create the ticket shortages so that their touts can make a fast buck. An audit of the system is required by some expert hacks to understand these chinks and then close the gaps that allow these manipulations. Many 'travel agents' are also touts in different garb.
Next comes the experience of travelling on reserved compartments. These compartments become a free-for-all during certain legs of the journey. Local people and office goers get in with impunity while the TTC and security fellows have a good time with their palms being greased. The reserved passengers suffer. If anyone dares to protest, he is bullied, threatened and, in some cases, manhandled. Women are subject to 'looks' and cat calls/nasty remarks by these unreserved ticket holders and none dare protest. Can we put an end to this? more
The situation for the on-line system is no better. The system takes inordinately long to respond for every screen during a booking attempt and frequently hangs. Here too, tickets on popular trains are not available within 5 minutes of opening booking 60 days in advance. If you try the same thing thru say, Cleartrip, you will find the system much more fast! However tickets will be mostly waitlisted.
If you want a confirmed ticket on nay of the popular, hard to get trains, just approach a tout and your job will be done. Ticket will be in your name, not in the name of any stranger.....How??
The root cause is the ability to manipulate the online reservation system by the booking counter operators. There are many shortcuts the operators have discovered which allow them to create the ticket shortages so that their touts can make a fast buck. An audit of the system is required by some expert hacks to understand these chinks and then close the gaps that allow these manipulations. Many 'travel agents' are also touts in different garb.
Next comes the experience of travelling on reserved compartments. These compartments become a free-for-all during certain legs of the journey. Local people and office goers get in with impunity while the TTC and security fellows have a good time with their palms being greased. The reserved passengers suffer. If anyone dares to protest, he is bullied, threatened and, in some cases, manhandled. Women are subject to 'looks' and cat calls/nasty remarks by these unreserved ticket holders and none dare protest. Can we put an end to this? more
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