Railways justifies platform ticket price hike despite protests

The doubling of the platform price tag rate from Rs 10 to 20 in a few stations in the Trichy department sparked protests inside the metropolis on Wednesday by the AIADMK and client businesses. Meanwhile, the railways justified the hike, claiming it changed toward handling the rampant misuse of the railway station premises.

This has been done to “alter unauthorized entry” to railway stations at some point during the annual Velankanni pageant while there is a large rush. The hike could be powerful from August 1 at Tiruchirapalli Railway Junction Station. At Velankanni, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Kumbakonam, and Thanjavur stations, the walk can be powerful from August 15. The walk will be powerful until September 30 at Tiruchirapalli Railway Junction Station, even as it’ll be powerful until September 15 at the opposite stations. An authentic launch said that the circulate would assist “decongest and save you unauthorized access to the stations and also help offer better services and protection to the passengers.”

Workers of AIADMK staged a protest in front of the divisional railway supervisor’s office, stressing a withdrawal of the hike, declaring that it changed into a clear misuse of the monopoly popularity of the railways. Meanwhile, the Consumer Protection Council in Tamil Nadu alleged that the hike changed into a senseless circulation to elevate cash at the price of passenger facilities. Seeing off elders and receiving them at stations became part of our lifestyle. Now, even this has turned into being taxed using the railways that have been propagating Indian culture.

In an illustration to Johri, general manager of Southern Railways, Chennai, and H Raja, chairman of the passenger facilities committee, in addition to the divisional railway manager of Trichy Udaykumar Reddy, the secretary of Tamil Nadu Consumer Protection Council, S Pushpavanam, stated that the railway had not posted any statistics to show that there has been a surging crowd ready to get into systems.

“As of now, nobody collects or examines platform tickets as there are not enough workers for this reason. Therefore, railways should permit at least two personnel on the western side and one on the eastern. Assuming there are two hundred people every day to buy platform tickets, railways can get a revenue of Rs 1.2 lakh a month by charging Rs 20. However, that will be eaten up by the income of 3 personnel. Hence, it is useless to hike the platform price tag price”, he claimed. “We additionally item to the steep increase of automobile parking price from Rs 10 to Rs 60. So it nearly prices a liter of petrol and more than a liter of diesel”, he said.

Meanwhile, a set of AIADMK cadre headed via celebration functionary M D Rajaraja Cholan amassed in front of the DRM workplace. It raised slogans against the steep hike in the platform ticket fee. Cholan refuted the reasons given by the government for increasing the ticket charge. Senior divisional commercial manager Arun Thomas Kalathikal has stated that many people had misused the premises of Trichy railway junction. This became the primary purpose of growing the platform ticket rate from Rs 10 to 20. This pass would additionally boost sales for the railways.

“We have established facilities like unfastened Wi-Fi, precise ready hall, and eateries. However, many human beings, such as college students who are not passengers, come there to use loose Wi-Fi and chat for hours. After having snacks at refreshment stalls, they disperse. They use the railway junction as a mall. Some college students even use the station after parking their car beside the premises”, he alleged. He stated that the choice aims to bring some regulations on such humans, that too for a brief length most effective. Moreover, at some point in pageant instances, it becomes standard to hike platform tickets each for raising revenue and for prescribing the unauthorized use of railway premises, he said.

Rail customers and functionaries of various customer associations have expressed displeasure with the Trichy railway division’s announcement, affecting a steep hike in platform price tag price to Rs 20 from Rs 10 at numerous stations, including Trichy Kumbakonam and Velankanni. Several passengers have defined the flow as an oblique way of burdening the general public with the only aim of increasing sales. However, the divisional government said in a declaration that if you want to alter rush and unauthorized entry to the railway stations, the rate of platform tickets at Trichy junction, Velankanni, Nagapattinam, Tiruvarur, Kumbakonam, and Thanjavur railway stations have been multiplied with impact from August 1 to September 30 at Trichy junction, and among August 15 and September 15 at different stations.

According to a senior professional in the business department, the flow turned toward regulating rush and the unauthorized crowd in railway stations regarding the Velankanni shrine annual banquet. But the rail users are short to factor out that no cgroupmight turn up at stations like Kumbakonam and Tiruvarur through the dinner party. So the real goal of the circulate is to raise sales on my own, they claimed.

“When a passenger is not prepared to shop for a platform price ticket for Rs 10, will he come forward to shop for the equal Rs 20? Instead of having a platform price ticket for Rs 20, they could thoroughly get a journeying ticket for Rs 10 for the shortest destination”, asked P Madhavan of Thanjavur. The right way to regulate unauthorized crowds might be with the aid of making use of the Railway Protection Force. Monitoring the gadgets via CCTV cameras changed into already in force. Moreover, tough and rapid regulations to penalize someone while he’s caught red surpassed without a price ticket. Authorities may also execute these approaches, says A Giri, vice-president of Thanjavur District Rail User’s Association.