Bhopal: The Bhopal Division of the West Central Railway has introduced a token-based system for Tatkal ticket bookings at all its computerised reservation centres from Saturday, aiming to make the reservation process more transparent and curb the activities of touts and middlemen.
Under the new arrangement, passengers will have to collect tokens before booking Tatkal tickets at reservation counters.
Tokens for AC Tatkal bookings will be issued between 8:30 and 9 a.m., while those for non-AC Tatkal bookings will be distributed from 9 to 9:30 a.m.
Each reservation counter will issue a maximum of 10 tokens for AC bookings and 15 for non-AC bookings.
However, railway authorities can increase or reduce the number of tokens depending on the crowd and local requirements.
To give preference to genuine passengers, the Railways has introduced two priority categories.
Priority ‘A’ will include passengers booking tickets for themselves or their immediate family members, including parents, grandparents, spouse, children and siblings. They will have to submit self-attested identity proof.
If required, additional documents establishing the family relationship, such as a ration card or family medical card, may also have to be produced.
Priority ‘B’ will include all other applicants. They will be required to submit self-attested identity documents of both the applicant and the passenger for whom the ticket is being booked.
Senior Divisional Commercial Manager Saurabh Kataria said the new system has been introduced to ensure that genuine passengers get priority and that the Tatkal booking process remains fair.
“The objective of the new token system is to make Tatkal reservations more transparent, fair and passenger-friendly. It will help genuine passengers get tickets while effectively checking the activities of unauthorised touts and middlemen,” Kataria told IANS.
He added that all Priority ‘A’ passengers will be attended to first, followed by those in Priority ‘B’.
Every token will carry the reservation counter number and its details will be recorded to prevent misuse and repeated token collection by the same person.
After all token holders have been served, any remaining Tatkal tickets will be issued on a first-come, first-serve basis, subject to availability.
“We urge passengers to follow the new procedure and book tickets only through authorised channels. This system has been introduced to make Tatkal bookings more transparent and convenient for genuine travellers,” Kataria added.
The new system has come into effect at all computerised reservation centres under the Bhopal Division from August 1.
(IANS)
