Starting March, commuters can book Central, Harbour and long-distance train tickets from agencies at 105 locations
Starting March, commuters can book Central, Harbour and long-distance train tickets from agencies at 105 locations
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How often have you wished you could avoid serpentine queues at the ticket windows at railway stations?
CR will appoint people and set up agencies under the Jansadharan Ticket Booking scheme to sell tickets. The person will not be an employee of Railways, but will be appointed on a two-year contract.
He must meet all the terms and conditions set by the Railways and his premises must be easily accessible to people. So, even your neighbourhood grocery shop can sell tickets if he chooses to opt for this agency.
S Mudgerikar, chief PRO, CR, said, "We've been working on this concept since the idea was proposed by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in the 2008 Railway budget. This will save the commuters from the trouble of long queues." The Railways have finalised 105 locations for 58 stations on the Central and Harbour line where tickets will be sold.
Tickets for long-distance trains can be booked three days in advance whereas for local trains, they'll be available on an everyday basis depending upon the timing. One canu00a0 only book unreserved tickets from these agencies. There were plans to sell season tickets as well, but it's been kept on hold. "Every person who buys tickets from these agencies will have to pay Re 1 more," said Mudgerikar. If a person buys four tickets that cost Rs 5 each, he will have to pay Rs 21. The additional rupee will go to the person operating the agency.
Commuters have welcomed the move, but wonder what will happen to the existing rule of boarding the train within an hour of buying the ticket. Anita Pandey, a commuter, said, "The idea is good, but what about the timing? If I buy a card ticket and get stuck in traffic for over an hour, will my ticket go waste?" The one-hour deadline will remain once the service starts. He added that they will take an appropriate decision later.
Places to remember
Some of the proposed sites by the Railways for the Jansadharan Ticket Booking scheme:
CST: Fort, Near Dalal Street, Colaba
Currey Road: Near Tata Hospital, Lalbaug
Dadar: Khordad Circle, Parsi Colony, D L Vaidya Road (Shivaji Park)u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0u00a0
Matunga: Maheshwari Udyan
Sion: Sion Circle, Dharavi
Ghatkopar: Jawahar Nagar, Pant Nagar, Asalpha
Thane: Kapurwadi, Kolshet, Wagle estate, Court Naka, Vasant Vihar etc
Kalyan: Tilak Chowk, Khadakpada, Kolsewadi, Tisgaon Naka
Shahad: Goal Maidan, Birla Mandir Road
Chembur: Thakkar Bappa Colony, Mahul, Goldval, Sindhi camp
Vashi: APMC colony
Panvel: Nr Shiva Complex Sector 12, near post office
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