Title - Steps to Handle Passenger Rush and Special Checks During Pooja Holidays to Curb Malpractices in Mass

South Central Railway isrunning 132 Special Trains during the months of October and November, 2012 to popular destinations such as Secunderabad, Vishakhapatnam, Tirupati, Kakinada, Shirdi, Nanded, Aurnagabad, Chennai, Bangalore, Jaipur, Santragachi and Shalimar (Kolkata) and Jammu Tawi to clear extra rush of passengers during ensuing festival season. The details can be viewed o­n SC Railway Web-site: www.scr.indianrailways.gov.in.Some of the existing trains have been augmented permanently with 61 additional coaches recently. Extra coaches are being attached o­n a daily basis to trains having long waiting list. Extra ticket counters are being operated at major stations o­n need basis to ease queues.
Apart from these special arrangements, the officials from Commercial, Vigilance and Security Departments of South Central Railway will carry out Special Checks during Pooja holidays to prevent irregularities in Booking / Reservation in order to ensure that bona-fied passengers are able to booktheir tickets with out facing any problem.
Raids o­n the premises of unauthorized and authorized travel agents with the help of local Police are being conducted in order to check / seize blocking of reservation under fictitious names and subsequent sale of transferred tickets. The checks will also concentrate on curbing theblocking of accommodation in Unreserved Coaches by Towel spreaders / anti social elements. Special efforts are also beingmade to detect fake tickets,forged tickets, resale of tickets, reuse of used tickets and also to detect misuse ofBlank Paper Tickets, Extra Fare Tickets, Circular Tours Tickets and unsold tickets etc.
It is being ensured that Additional Coaches are logged in the Passenger Reservation System in time so that the waiting list is automatically updated. Statement of name change is drawn out o­n a daily basis and closely monitored to stop any misuse thereof. If there are any unusually high transactions by any particular Enquiry Cum Reservation Clerk, he/she is kept under close watch to detect any possible connivance with touts. In addition, the queues at the Reservation Counters are being monitored through Closed Circuit Television Cameras, wherever available, to prevent the activities of touts.
Arrangements are also made to man the Additional Coaches and Special Trains by Travelling Ticket Examiners so that in case any irregularity is detected responsibility could be fixed. South Central Railway gives wide publicity through Press Releases, Display Advertisements and website etc., to make the general public aware of the provision of Additional Coaches, Extra Coaches and Special Trains etc., enabling them to book their ticketsin advance and not to fall into the hands of touts / agents.