Ahmedabad Mirror: Ahmedabad: Monday,
July 11, 2016.
Ticketless
travelling in trains doesn't raise eyebrows anymore. But what has raised the
concern of railway authorities and the ire of passengers are the increasing
number of trains without Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs). This has not only
caused tremendous hardship to the traveller but also added to the burden of the
loss-laden railways. Losses due to passenger and other coaching services
touched more than Rs 30K crore in 2014-15, the minister of railways had
recently informed the Lok Sabha.
Between 8 and
10 trains from Ahmedabad station have been running without TTEs. As against the
sanctioned strength of 589 TTEs from Ahmedabad Division, there are 468 ticket
collectors, a shortfall of 121 personnel. With no TTE in a train, passengers
are left to fend for themselves. They have no one to complain to if someone is
harassed, if the train runs out of water, in case of theft or reserved seats
are occupied by unreserved passengers. According to a railway official,
"Every day more than 102 trains go up and down from Ahmedabad station.
Without TTEs
railways not only stand to lose money but it also causes massive hardships to
passengers." What we found As per information sought under the Right to
Information (RTI) Act about trains without RTEs, Mirror got information from
December 22, 2015 to June 1, 2016, more than 40 trains from Ahmedabad station
ran without a single TTE. These do not include the trains that run with just
one TTE when two are required or two when four are required. An official on
condition of anonymity said, "The absence of TTE in one train causes a
loss of Rs 50,000 to Rs 60,000 to the railways, but causes massive issues for
the passengers."
A rough
estimate would peg the loss at Rs 20 lakh in six months in this segment alone.
According to DRUCC (Divisional Railway Consultative Committee) Member Kashyap
Vyas, "Every month around 1,800 coaches travel without TTE. This causes a
huge loss of revenue to the railways. TTE is a representative of the railways
and in most passenger-related issues, if he is not available in the coach one
can gauge how badly it affects the passengers."
Pradip Sharma
recently travelled from Ahmedabad to Mumbai in a train that had no TTE. He
lamented, "I found a passenger sitting on my seat. I politely asked him to
vacate my seat. But he refused to do so. I then thought of approaching the TTE.
However, he was nowhere to be found. Then I came to know that the train is
without TTE. To add to my woes, there was no RPF jawan either."
Accepting
that there was a shortage of TTEs, Ajay Prakash, senior divisional commercial
manager, said, "Around 35 to 40 new TTEs will join the department soon. To
meet the target we sometimes are forced to run trains without TTE. At this
juncture it is very difficult to say how much railway loses due to unmanned
trains." Zonal Railway Users Consultative Committee Member Yogesh Mishra
said, "This problem is increasing day by day. On one hand, railways
increase travel fare and on the other people have to suffer with no TTE in
coaches."
ROLE OF
THE TTES
ATravelling
Ticket Examiner or ticket collector ensures order in the train and implements
the rules and regulations. Passengers can take their grievances to him. In his
absence problems remain unresolved, ticketless travel increases and unreserved
passengers go unchecked. This causes loss of revenue to railways. Several
passengers book their tickets and cancel their journey at the eleventh hour.
Seats of these passengers have to be adjusted among those with RAC tickets. In
case of harassment, passengers can even ask him to lodge FIR on their behalf.
All these things make TTE crucial to a running train.
TTES NOT
FOUND IN THIS SECTION
·
Ahmedabad to Udaipur
·
Ahmedabad to Vasai Road
·
Ahmedabad to Abu Road
·
Ahmedabad to Surat
·
Ahmedabad to Ratlam
·
Ahmedabad to Bhuj.
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