No return ticket on suburban services, commuters irked

No return ticket on suburban services, commuters irked

Aditi.R@timesgroup.com

Chennai: 07.01.2021

An order by the railways to not permit the sale of return tickets during nonpeak hours has irked commuters who use suburban and MRTS services.

The directive was issued on December 22 and said only those with identity cards or bonafide certificates from workplaces can get return or season tickets. Woman passengers, however, can buy return tickets.

“I am a salesman and I have to reach work at 10.30am. I keep going to the counter at every station to get a single ticket. It’s a hassle,” said R Ramakrishnan, who was boarding a train to Adyar from Chintadripet.

V Bhaskaran, 70, called the move unreasonable. “I went to Triplicane station around 11.30am for a train to Chennai Beach. They refused me a returnticket.Later,when Iwentto buy a ticket at the Beach station, there was a long line,” said Bhaskaran.

Recently, the railways increased the number of workmen specials to 500 and MRTS services to 80, which is close to the pre-Covid-19 frequency. A few travelling in workmen specials from the suburban stations in Kodambakkam and West Mambalam said the booking staff has notbeen issuing return tickets to all despite showing their IDs. “They say my office ID is not enough, I need to get a letter mentioning the time and days I’m supposed to be in the office,” said Manoj Poduval, an accountant.

T Sadagopan, president of Tamil Nadu Progressive Consumer Centre, said the purpose of issuing return tickets is to reduce crowding at counters. “If the authorities are concerned about safety, they must open more counters, ensure social distancing,” he said.

A senior railway official said if they provide return tickets to all, more people will start using trains. “And crowding at the counters does not happen regularly. We will start issuing return tickets to the general public after analysing the situation,” said the official.