Unreserved passengers spotted in trains

Nagpur: Even as the Central Railway has claimed that only passengers with confirmed and RAC tickets are allowed to travel, many without reservation have been found travelling in the trains.Post Covid-19 protocol, the current ticket windows have been closed and there is strict enforcement on entry and exit for ticket holders from the west side of the station. Yet, passengers are entering the station without reserved tickets, putting a question mark on the so-called tight security.“Even if passengers are found without confirmed reservation, the train ticket examiners (TTEs) should deboard them. Instead, the TTEs are allowing them to travel by handing over excess fare tickets,” said Basant Shukla, general secretary, Bharatiya Yatri Kendra (BYK).“Why fine is being charged from ticketless travellers who then crowd coaches? This boosts revenue for the railways which is facing a financial crisis. Of the late, there is an increase in the number of such passengers. How they manage to enter the station is a mystery,” said Shukla.“Even if only those having confirmed tickets are allowed at the station, inside the coaches, it is business as usual for beggars and vendors. Beggars in coaches is a common sight,” says Brij Bhushan Shukla of Rail Yatri Sangh. Assistant commercial manager & Central Railway spokesperson SG Rao said, “Because of strict enforcement by the railway staff cases of passengers travelling in trains are being detected.”Rao further said unreserved passengers are still not being allowed to travel. “Even the general coaches’ berths called 2S (second sitting) are being allotted under reservation. Such passengers may be boarding the trains at some other stations.”