RailEnquiry

The Railways seem to be living in a time warp as far as block booking of tickets go. Take the case of Bangalore and Chennai, which are virtually neck-and neck with a metropolitan area population of around 90 lakh each. Yet, Chennai continues to be Big Brother when it comes to block booking. Bangaloreans have to be content with a block booking upper limit of 80 seats.
    On April 8, 120 students of Adarsh Management College were to travel to New Delhi on a study tour.
    The college authorities who tried to book bulk tickets for the students at the Bangalore City railway station were told no more than 80 tickets could be booked. They were told that if all 120 students wished to travel together,they would have to book the tickets at Chennai and travel from there. That is what the group willynilly ended up doing.
    Seema Sambargi Itagi, HoD, management studies, who is on the tour, said, “When they said 80 was the limit, we were left with no choice. Out of the 10-day tour, we now lose two days travelling between Bangalore and Chennai.
    “We expected the Railways to be helpful and perhaps add an additional bogie to the train.Instead,they threw the rule book at us. We never knew such a rule existed. It is strange that Bangalore, which is similar in population to Chennai, is at the receiving end of such a rule.
    “What is the use of being a mega-city when you cannot buy tickets here?”
    The ordeal did not end there. They travelled to Chennai on April 8 and had to wait for eight hours to board a train to New Delhi.
    Itagi said, “Earlier we had taken nearly 180 students on tours,but this was the first time we tried the Railways and were disappointed.It is not just education institutions which require bulk tickets.
    “What if there is a marriage party or big family tours?”
    Ramesh, commercial manager, South-Western Railways, told BANGALORE MIRROR, “We are following a government order. Only half of the tickets available in a day can be given in bulk. The rest are for passengers who queue up. These rules have been in place for a long time.”
    Private tour operators too face the problem but have a way of getting round it. A private tour operator who did not wish to be named said, “When there are more than 80 tourists, we usually divide them into two groups.
    “It creates some logistical problems but that is better than asking the tourists to take a detour to Chennai.”