RailEnquiry

Western Railway (WR) has decided to crack down on return tickets under the tatkal scheme. It has instructed chief booking supervisors at each Passenger Reservation System (PRS) centre to seek an original copy of the photo identity card of the passenger who plans to travel to Mumbai, even if he/she is not present in person at the counter, Manthan K Mehta reported in The Times of India.

Under existing rules, a self-attested photocopy of any ID proof of one of the passengers has to be attached with the requisition slip. The details are recorded in the system and indicated on the ticket and reservation cards. Now WR has made it mandatory in Mumbai for even a person who is not travelling, but booking the ticket on somebody's behalf, to bring the passenger's original ID.

The move targets people who mail scanned copies of their IDs to touts in Mumbai from other states. A WR official said, "We hope this will keep a check on touts to some extent." WR already has self-tatkal ticket counters to help genuine passengers book tickets under the quota.