THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The new rules for Tatkal, the emergency railway ticket booking scheme, to clamp down on agents and touts, have served the purpose it seems.From Wednesday onwards, the day on which the new system came into effect, the heavy rush in front of the booking counters here have dwindled. The officials at the ticket booking counters said that there was a fall in the number of persons during the peak hours in which the counter opens. For the past two days there was a fall of around 40 per cent in the morning hours, said an official at the booking counter of Central Railway Station.“The rules were muchawaited,” says Manikandan, a marketing professional, who has to make travels at short notice. “Several times I had to return disappointed. But on Thursday, to my surprise, I found only a reasonable number of persons in the queue. The new rules have succeeded in avoiding fraudsters,” he said. Under the new scheme, advance booking starts only 24 hours prior to the departure of the train.Also, tickets will be issued only on production of a photo identity card.A self-attested photo copy of the proof of identity of the passenger is required to be attached to the requisition slip.For travellers in group, identity proof of any one passenger should be produced.“The initial days also witnessed some passengers, who were not fully aware of the rules getting into trouble,” said an official. “Some did not bring the photo copy of the identity proof and had to rush to get the same before the tickets sold out,” he said. “Many are also unaware that Tatkal tickets can be booked 24 hours prior to the departure of the train from the original station,” he said.The officials also said that those travelling in groups should get the ticket in the name of the passenger who would be most certain to be in the group.“The identity card number of the passenger who books the ticket is recorded on the ticket. If that person is not travelling, all other passengers on that ticket will not be able to travel. They will be treated as travelling without ticket and charged accordingly,” he said. The new rules also bars the Rail Travel Service Agents (RTSAs) to book Tatkal tickets at the counters as well as on the internet between 8 a.m.and 10 a.m.The Railways have also announced its plan to install surveillance cameras in front of the booking counters to check agents and fraudsters.
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