Officially heralding the summer vacations, a whopping 1.35 lakh passengers booked tickets under the Bengaluru division of the South Western Railway on April 1.
This is 145 per cent more than the bookings received last year around the same time. With this, the Bengaluru division also achieved its highest ever earnings under the Passenger Reservation System (PRS): Rs. 10.53 crore, a press statement said here on Thursday.
A railway spokesperson said the rush was due to the string of holidays this week. “The summer vacations have also begun, contributing to the rush. The increase in booking period to 120 days (from the earlier 60 days) is also a factor as many are making advanced bookings,” the official said.
Expecting the demand for train tickets to go up further in the next two to three weeks, the spokesperson said the existing reservation and booking system is well-equipped to handle any further rush.
“In addition to this, our offices in Koramanagala, Vijayanagar, K.R. Puram and Indiranagar are also taking care of the extra rush,” the official added.
No. of passengers who booked train tickets on April 1 (under Bengaluru division): 1.35 lakh
Earnings of Bengaluru division on the day: Rs. 10.53 crore
