The Hindu : Tamil Nadu News : Mad rush for tickets continues

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Monday, Jun 09, 2008
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Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu

Mad rush for tickets continues

M. Gunasekaran

More counters and installation of platform vending machines can solve the problem

Photo: M. Balaji

Long wait: A scene at Tirupur Railway Station on Sunday. –

TIRUPUR: A passenger from Tirupur Railway Station has two options: miss her train or travel ticketless. Such is the crowd during peak hours that one has to wait for more than half an hour to get a ticket from the unreserved ticket counters at the station.

There has always been long queues at Platform 1 and Platform 2 between 7 a.m. and 9 a.m. to buy tickets. Many passengers are forced to go to the platforms without ticket because of this.

If at all one stand in queue during this time there is all the possibility of missing the Intercity Express bound for Chennai; Jan Sathabti Express bound for Kumbakonam; Nagerkoil Fast Passenger and Tiruchy Passenger.

“I stood in the queue for 33 minutes to buy a platform ticket. Fortunately, I was able to send off my family members because the Intercity Express was delayed by 10 minutes. More than 75 people were waiting for tickets. Many could have missed the trains,” says K.D. Venkatesan, past president, Lions Club of Tirupur.

The platform ticket vending machine, put up by Karur Vysya Bank, is not functioning for the last couple of months adding to the woes of passengers.

If the machine had worked properly the crowd before the counters may be reduced. Mr. Venkatesan suggests that one more machine be installed on Platform 2.

According to sources, nearly 5,000 passengers buy tickets worth over Rs.3 lakh a day from the computerised counters on Platform 1.

And from the manual counter on Platform 2, more than 2,000 people buy tickets every day. The number goes up on Sundays.

If more counters are installed on both the platforms, it will help reduce the crowd, says the Railway Passengers Association. More number of counters is needed for booking reserved tickets too.

While passengers bound for Chennai, Bangalore and other cities via Erode board trains from Platform 2, a digital information board should be erected to help them.

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