You need not wait in long queues at the railway stations to buy unreserved tickets at the last minute enduring the tension of missing the train. Soon you can buy unreserved tickets three days ahead of your journey at a place nearest to your home or office.
The Bangalore Division of the South Western Railway is planning to expand its unreserved ticketing system (UTS) with a two-pronged approach: appointing private franchisees (Jansadharan Ticket Booking Sewaks, introduced two years back) and equipping its passenger reservation system (PRS) counters to sell unreserved tickets, Divisional Railway Manager Sudhanshu Mani told presspersons here on Friday.
Sixteen franchisees have been selected across the city, of which three have started selling unreserved tickets. They are Raghavendra Tours and Travels on Rajajinagar 4{+t}{+h} Block 10{+t}{+h} Main (near Rama Mandira); Jaypee Logistics and Transporters in BTM Layout and Vayuputra Travels in Sai Baba Nagar, Sriramapuram. The rest are in the process of setting up shop, he said.
The PRS counters where unreserved ticketing system (UTS) has been introduced are Indiranagar, Austin Town, Electronics City, Koramangala, Banashankari, Jayanagar and Vijayanagar. Seven more PRS counters in the city will join this list, Mr. Mani added.
More Jansadharan counters will come up in the city as the SWR has invited tenders to set up 114 such counters within the Bangalore Division, said Praveen Pande, Senior Divisional Commercial Manager.
Relocation
Meanwhile, the Bangalore Division will relocate the existing UTS counters at the main entrance of the Bangalore City Railway Station to the first floor of the reservation counter building. This building is located on the left hand side of the entry to the City station.
The load at the PRS counters has come down considerably owing to online reservation of tickets. This has prompted the SWR to relocate the UTS counters so that the main passenger concourse at the City station terminal will have more space, Mr. Mani said. The process should be completed in one and a half months, he added.
After buying unreserved tickets on the first floor of the PRS building, passengers can directly enter the platforms, except Platform No. 1 through the footbridge. While the passenger concourse will look spacious with the relocation, passengers can buy unreserved tickets in the air-conditioned ambience at the PRS building, Mr. Mani said.
There are also plans to open an UTS counter at the Bangalore Metropolitan Transport Corporation bus terminal at Majestic in coordination with the corporation, he added.
