The online booking of railway retiring rooms at Kozhikode railway station, which has been remaining suspended for over eight months, is likely to be reopened by the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation on December 1. Cleaning work is in progress now to make it available for booking on the official IRCTC portal.
There are five retiring rooms, including the air conditioned ones, at the Kozhikode railway station. It is available at an affordable rate between ₹400 and ₹600. The facility continues to be a relief for many long distance passengers.
Though booking will be reopened, there will be restrictions on the number of persons allowed considering the COVID-19 situation. The rooms will be allotted to the guests only after proper health screening and complying with the COVID-19 protocol.
Considering the public request, a proposal to revise the existing 12-hour service to 24-hour service has been placed before the IRCTC authorities. According to officials, the extension of stay time is likely to attract more booking and better revenue. Now, passengers who want to extend their stay for more than 12 hours have to repeat the booking process again on the portal with some additional charge, they said.
The leaders of various rail users forums pointed out that the 12-hour service was causing a huge trouble to many long distance passengers who arrived at the railway station early in the morning. The existing check-in time at 10 a.m. would also have to be revised to offer better service to the passengers, they said.
