RailEnquiry

TRICHY: The shortage of Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs) in Tiruchchirappalli railway division has been disconcerting for a long time. The issue paves the way for ticket-less travel, causing revenue loss to the railways. In addition, passengers and TTEs too are affected. Tiruchchirappalli railway division has nearly 420 TTEs, but the number is not enough to man around 20 Express trains originating from Trichy. As a consequence of the manpower shortage, TTEs are forced to take care of more than four coaches on an Express train instead of their actual duty of two coaches. According to TTEs, the additional workload causes stress to them and as a result, they are unable to concentrate on the additional coaches. A TTE on condition of anonymity told TOI, "Most of the trains start late night. We have to verify all tickets in the four coaches before passengers sleep. When we disturb them for ticket verification, they get angry. On the other hand, most tickets go unverified. Moreover, we cannot provide assistance to passengers in case of an emergency. We are liable for departmental action if passengers lodge complaints." The shocking news is that unverified tickets are submitted for cancellation after the journey. The trend has been increasing recently, causing revenue loss to the railways. There are five squad teams comprising 10 TTEs and an inspector each in Tiruchirappalli division. However, most of the time, the TTEs in the squad are deputed as regular TTEs. So, their usual duty of checking is affected in both platforms and in trains. A Charles, assistant divisional secretary of Dakshina Railway Employees Union (DREU), Tiruchchrappalli division, said, "The recruitment of TTEs did not take place for a long time despite a huge number of TTEs retiring in Southern Railways. We made a number of representations to the ministry, but all went in vain." A senior TTE said, "The problem will aggravate in the next year following retirements of many employees in the Tiruchchirappalli division. The railways should take the matter into consideration and appoint sufficient TTEs."