BENGALURU: Passengers approaching the back entry of the Krantivira Sangolli Rayanna railway station using the foot overbridge (FOB) from the KSR Metro station are having a harrowing time while waiting to get unreserved or platform tickets. Reason: Only a single ticketing counter is operational here.
The problem is compounded during the weekends when hundreds of passengers commute from this station to neighbouring cities, particularly Mysuru.
The FOB was declared open in February this year and provides easy access for passengers interchanging between Metro and Railway stations. However, the need to cool one’s heels in a long queue has not gone down well with passengers. Compounding the problem is the fact that the automated vending machine for tickets located just next to the counter is not working.
This reporter was a witness to major altercations between passengers queuing up last Saturday (June 29) afternoon. A few passengers had to intervene to stop those arguing from getting into blows. The single staffer issuing tickets was under enormous pressure working non-stop to cater to the rush of passengers.
“The queue gets really long during the weekends. I am heading to Dodaballapur now and am keen on boarding the Basava Express. I have been waiting in line for over 15 minutes now,” says Dr C Rajashekhar, who teaches in a B.Ed College in the city.
Behind him was homemaker B S Achala along with her young daughter Avnita. They have already missed the Tippu Passenger to Mysuru at 3.15 pm while in the queue “We are hoping to catch the Chamrajnagar Passenger to Mysuru at 3.30 pm but do not know if we will make it seeing this queue. If we miss that, then we have to wait till the 5.45 pm Vishvamanava Express to Mysuru,” she said.
Echoing her views was senior citizen Nagendra Gowda, also heading to Mysuru. “At least 30 minutes before the arrival of important intercity trains, more staffers need to be used to issue tickets,” he said.
Suhasini S was spotted standing in the queue on behalf of her grandmother as she could not stand for long.
A top railway official said, “More passengers should use ticketing app for booking unreserved tickets. However, if needed, we will open another counter to issue tickets.”