Title - 'Tatkal' booking still a nightmare

PATNA: The change in the timing of 'Tatkal' ticket bookings from 8am to 10am from passenger reservation system (PRS) counters across the country since July 10, has hardly brought any relief to 'Tatkal' ticket seekers.Harassed passengers told TOI getting 'Tatkal' tickets was still an uphill task for the common people, especially women. They have to remain in the queue since early morning for the purpose."The rush is so huge that most of the people, especially women, cannot get confirmed tickets under the 'Tatkal' scheme from Patna Junction. Only the first five people in the queue are usually fortunate to get confirmed berths. The chances are remote for the rest," one such ticket seeker Rita Singh said and added taking a wait-listed 'Tatkal' ticket was of no use.Vivek and Anand said the railways must allow genuine passengers registered with the IRCTC website to book 'Tatkal' tickets online between 10am and 12 noon. They will thus be spared unnecessary harassment.According to the aggrieved people, the railways should give a thought to making a little amendment to the 'Tatkal' booking rules. The 'Tatkal' tickets should be booked three days, instead of one day, ahead of the date of journey so that those denied confirmed berths could have options to plan their journey accordingly. Besides, touts would become less active as passengers would not approach them, they said.Meanwhile, the railways has banned travel agents from accessing the railways' website for online booking of the 'Tatkal' tickets from 10am to 12 noon every day. There are an estimated one lakh web service agents engaged in e-ticket booking in the country. At least 35% of the online booking of railway tickets is done by these master agents at the country level, sources said.

One of the master agents said the demand for 'Tatkal' tickets from Patna has been on the rise these days especially for Delhi, Mumbai, Goa, Pune, Chennai and Bangalore.