The announcement in the railway budget, to bring back coin-operated ticketing system, has created confusion among rail commuters, about the future of automated ticket-vending machines (ATVMs).
Even after several years, the railway department is yet to find a technological solution to decongest the crowded ticket counters in the city.
At a time when ATVMs are believed to bring relief to commuters, after Southern Railway posted retired railwaymen as facilitators at ATVMs in stations such as T. Nagar, Tambaram, Chennai Central and Park, the announcement has come as a setback to ATVMs, say commuters.
A senior Southern Railway official clarifies there is no proposal to remove ATVMs. Citing the railway budget, which says an additional 5,000 ATVMs are to be installed in the country, he says the coin-operated system will complement the ATVMs.
R. Elangovan, secretary of Dakshin Railway Employees Union, says the only solution for the Railways will be to increase the number of ticketing clerks, open more ticket counters and speed up ticket issuing mechanism.
