RailEnquiry

Railway staff and passengers have sought drastic changes in Tatkal quota system since many people are not able to get tickets in the stipulated time.At present, there is no separate counter or queue system for booking Tatkal tickets, as per the guidelines of the Railway Board. All the regular passengers and Tatkal ticket seekers have to stand in the same queue at the counters. Tatkal booking which opens at 10 am will close within no time since tickets can be booked at other railway stations and through internet.The Tatkal ticket seekers, who stand in the queue along with regular travellers, are not able to get tickets due to non availability of special counter and queue.The passengers, who come for normal advance booking, are not giving priority to Tatkal ticket seekers at the counter. Precious time is being wasted in arguments and jostling between both the sections at Srikakulam Railway Station which is located at Amudalavalasa. Many passengers urged the officials to introduce at least token system for Tatkal tickets. Brokers are taking advantage of loopholes in the system and collecting extra money from the passengers for getting tickets under Tatkal quota.“The token system is being implemented effectively in Visakhapatnam and other stations. The same should be introduced in Srikakulam Railway Station and counters located in Srikakulam town. First cum first serve system will find out solution to all the problems,” said Ch.Dinesh, a passenger. Another traveller M. Kurmanatha Rao alleged: “Several brokers are jumping the queues with the support of railway staff. They are blocking all the tickets under Tatkal quota. The officials should identify them and allow genuine passengers to get tickets in a hassle free manner.”However, the railway officials told The Hindu that the token system had many drawbacks since passengers have to come early to collect tokens. According to them, the middlemen will take more tokens and prevent genuine passengers from getting tickets under Tatkal quota. “There is suggestion from travellers that Tatkal quota should be completely filled through on-line since there are no separate counters and queues anywhere in India. Otherwise, the Railway Board should come out with new guidelines to ensure hassle free Tatkal ticketing system,” said a senior official.