Installation of three more Automated Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs) at the Visakhapatnam railway station is a boon to passengers.
Many a time, passengers run the risk of missing the train as the few general booking counters are inadequate to meet the rush, especially before the departure of important originating trains such as Janmabhoomi, Ratnachal, and Godavari Express.
The ATVMs are being operated by retired railway employees or their children on commission basis. There are certain apprehensions among the travelling public, particularly the illiterate sections, on purchase of tickets at the ATVMs.
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The operators are also not evincing interest in issuing tickets beyond 500 km as their commission is being deducted on issue of such tickets.
Opening of a booking counter on PF No. 4 at Duvvada railway station comes as a great relief to passengers. They can now obtain unreserved tickets, platform tickets, and monthly season tickets at this counter from 6 a.m. to 2 p.m.
Construction of PF 4 with a booking counter, toilets, and circulating area was completed in 2013. It was not opened citing staff shortage as the reason.
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“An ATVM has been provided on the platform. But there is no facilitator at it for the past 15 months,” says K. Eswar, secretary of the Duvvada Railway Users’ Association.
“Earlier, in the absence of a booking counter, passengers had to walk to PF No.1 for general tickets and platforms tickets. In the absence of lift or a ramp-type foot-over-bridge, wheel-chair users and senior citizens have been suffering a lot,” he said.