Mumbai local trains: Commuters seek private agent ticket till booking resumes online

Long queues seen outside ticket booking counters at Thane and Asangaon railway stations

Order to avoid crowding at ticket booking counters in railway stations, commuter organisations have suggested restarting the Jansadharan Ticket Booking Seva (JTBS). They want the railways to open up the JTBS counters, through which private ticketing agents sell local train tickets, till the online service can be opened up.

Local train tickets in Mumbai are currently being given to a selected category of commuters, including those who are fully vaccinated, all below 18 years and unvaccinated citizens who have medical complications and can provide proof supporting it. Since the mobile ticketing service is still shut, commuters have to visit ticket counters at stations, leading to crowds.

Speaking to mid-day, Nandkumar Deshmukh, president of Federation of Suburban Passengers Association, said, "I visited Thane station at 3 pm yesterday, which is considered to be a non-peak hour, but was quite surprised to see long queues outside booking offices. Commuters are already suffering because on one hand the railways is not issuing tickets to the unvaccinated and on the other the MSRTC strike has crippled long-distance commute. The railways should think of restarting the JTBS service."

Another commuter activist Umesh Vishe said that the condition was the same at all stations. "For instance, Asangaon station sees on an average 70,000 commuters per day. It has just two ticket windows, leading to long queues. The JTBS will be of great help." The JTBS service enables commuters to buy tickets at grocery stores or other commercial establishments outside stations. It had been started nearly a decade ago with the aim of introducing more options for commuters.

However, a railway official said, "The vaccine certificate currently does not have the holder's photograph and needs to be verified with other government documents. The JTBS service can be started once the UTS app is activated for more security and authentication. Till then, getting tickets from counters will be a better option for everyone. Once the UTS app is integrated with Co-WIN, the problem won't be there as the online ticketing process can be reactivated."

Speaking to mid-day, Central Railway chief public relations officer Shivaji Sutar said, "Our IT team is trying their best to merge the UTS app with the Universal Travel Pass application in order to facilitate a smooth process."