CHENNAI: Although Suvidha Express trains have contributed to increased revenue for railways, a section of rail users has accused railways of focusing only on commercial considerations by operating the trains in which tickets cost up to four times the standard fare if booked at the last minute.
Travellers say the special trains are not run with service motto as is expected of a national transporter. On the contrary, they say, the trains are being run only for monetary purposes.
Railways first introduced premium trains with dynamic pricing, as seen in airfares on Mumbai–New Delhi route in 2013. Two years later, the railway ministry replaced the term ‘premium trains’ with ‘Suvidha’.
Only confirmed and Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC) tickets were to be issued on these trains, with the minimum fare being in the same range of Tatkal fare for the particular class.
Zonal railways were authorised to run such trains in sectors where the demand was high, especially during the festive period.
Cashing in on the advantage of getting more revenue from passengers, Southern Railway operated more Suvidha special trains in 2016, compared to 2015. Totally, 1,151 reserved special trains were run, registering an eight percent increase over the previous year.
Advance reservation for one such train, to be operated from Tirunelveli to Chennai Egmore on February 5, is currently open.
There are five daily trains on the sector, including the popular Nellai Express. On Thursday, when Express looked up the IRCTC portal, it found sleeper class (SL) and 3 AC tickets were only available in Suvidha Express. However, tickets for SL and 3 AC for the Suvidha train were priced `200 more than the fares in the other five trains.
It is this opportunity, officials say, railways is tapping by satisfying last minute travellers who otherwise have to go for Tatkal tickets or other means of transport. “While undoubtedly, Suvidha trains are oriented towards meeting the ticket demands on popular routes, it also helps substantially in revenue generation for us,” a railway official said.
But, rail users and passenger associations are not satisfied. Alleging that the move (to run Suvidha trains) was with an economic motive, J Soosai Raj, general secretary, TN Southern Districts Train Passengers Association (TNSDTPA), said premium trains did not truly benefit frequent rail users.
“If the purpose is to cater to the demand, why not operate regular services,” he said, adding that their long-pending demand to operate more weekly services from Chennai to Nagercoil remained unfulfilled. Other passengers also echoed Soosai Raj’s view. “Fares are high and also there is no concession available even for senior citizens. It is so unfair,” lamented S Parthiban, a retired government official.