CHENNAI: As many as 683 travellers, mostly migrant workers from Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh, were deboarded from reserved coaches of the KSR Bengaluru-Danapur Sanghamitra Express at Perambur on Tuesday for travelling without valid tickets.
Fines of Rs 3.38 lakh were collected from them. When the train reached Perambur in the evening, ticket examiners accompanied by RPF personnel inspected the coaches, and deboarded unreserved travellers from reserved compartments.
While passengers complain that unreserved travellers often occupy reserved coaches, railway officials say it's practically impossible to conduct such inspections on every train. However, passengers and former rail employees say the Railways should better gauge demand for tickets to northern States from the South.
In a similar incident on May 24, the Howrah-Kanyakumari Express was halted at the Chengalpattu railway station after passengers in reserved coaches pulled the emergency alarm chain, demanding that unreserved travellers be deboarded.
More than 300 people were deboarded and penalised. "An unreserved coach has 120-130 seats, and long-distance trains have two or three such coaches. Yet, 700-800 unreserved tickets are issued. Demand should be monitored, and sale of unreserved tickets restricted," says a retired travelling ticket examiner (TTE).
‘Rlys should’ve analysed data, introduced spl trains’
Monitoring the demand seems to be a challenge, as the Railways didn't gauge the sudden requirement for tickets to Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, and Kolkata from South Indian States.
"Unreserved ticket holders occupy the floor at night, making it difficult for people to access the toilets. Language constraints add to the difficulties. Based on the data, officials could have introduced reserved or unreserved specials. It’'s a complete administrative failure," says R Ramanathan, a passenger, pointing out that the Railways has real-time data on the sale of reserved and unreserved tickets, but hasn't made use of it.
Besides, the high number of unreserved passengers poses a threat to law and order, say the railway police. "Anti-social elements take advantage of the presence of unauthorised passengers, and steal phones and other gadgets from people who have reserved seats. We have listed such incidents in a detailed letter to top Railways officials," a railway police official tells The New Indian Express.
A Southern Railway official says the branch concerned continuously monitors growing waiting lists for trains headed to Guwahati, Satraganchi, and Howrah, and proposals for running special trains on these sectors are being considered.
"Tickets in these segments (Danapur) are getting booked just a few days before the day of the journey. This indicates unplanned travel due to an emergency," he said. Unreserved coaches were removed during the COVID-19 lockdown, and subsequently restored.
'Running of specials being considered'
A Southern Railway official says the branch concerned continuously monitors growing waiting lists for trains headed to Guwahati, Satraganchi, and Howrah, and proposals for running special trains on these sectors are being considered