Title - Rail tickets at post offices

Now, book your train tickets from the neighbourhood post office. In an attempt to make railway tickets more accessible, the Singhbhum postal division has tied up with South Eastern Railway (SER) to provide the booking facilities in post offices of three districts in Kolhan. Postal authorities said the railways have approved as many as 18 post offices in East Singhbhum, West Singhbhum and Seraikela-Kharsawan where passenger reservation system (PRS) services would be available. Confirming the development, senior postmaster of Singhbhum postal division R.D. Sharma said the agreement to the effect was signed recently. According to Sharma, the necessary hardware and software would be installed by the railways, while the postal department would provide space for counters. "The railways will also provide necessary training to postmasters of the outlets where the facility will be available," he said, adding that the service would take at least 3-4 months to start. Another senior postal department official said the move is aimed at reducing the rush at the reservation counter in Tatanagar railway station. "We are working out the nitty-gritties to launch the service at the earliest. It will benefit a major section of people," he said. Some of the approved counters would be at the General Post Office at Bistupur, post offices at Agrico, Golmuri, Jugsalai, Sakchi, Burmamines, Indranagar, Telco, Baharagora, Ghatshila, Chaibasa, Chakulia, Jhinkpani and Seraikela. Postal department officials said at present, only Mango post office had an approved reservation counter, which had been running for the last one year. However, the system was not functioning properly due to frequent data link failure. A senior member of the Zonal Railway Users' Consultative Committee (ZRUCC) Suresh Sonthalia said he would raise the issue during a meeting slated in Calcutta later this month. "We welcome the move to set up reservation counters in post offices. But, the facility should work effectively and benefit the people," said Sonthalia, who is also a member of the advisory board of the post and telegraph department.