Railways are planning to close down 11 of the 30 non-rail head passenger reservation system (NRH PRS) counters in the State, started to reach out to remote locations outside railway stations.
The move follows a review, carried out as mandated by the Railway Board, which revealed that 11 of these counters do not enjoy much patronage. If there was no improvement in earnings in the next three months, the counters would be closed down, a railway official said.
The daily average reservation in these counters are: post offices at Pulinkunnu (23) in Alappuzha, Vaikom (21), Munnar (16), Charumoodu (14), Santhigiri (13), Kumily (13), Edathua (8), and Koothattukulam (7); counter at the Idukki district panchayat office (16); Nedumkandam block panchayat office (15); and Thackalai bus-stand in Kanyakumari district of Tamil Nadu (22).
ADVERTISEMENT
About 80 per cent of the total reservation is now made through the Internet and rest through the reservation counters at the railway stations. This has resulted in the decreasing patronage.
The division has a total of 30 NHR PRS and eight of them are located in post office buildings. Only the NHR PRS counter in Idukki is managed by railway personnel.