New railway ticket rule stumps commuters

KOLKATA: Keep a residential proof handy the next time you go to the railway booking counter to purchase a Monthly Season Ticket (MST). The booking clerk may demand to see it. You may also be denied an MST if the station is not the closest to your home. If the booking clerk so chooses, he may also demand to see proof of your workplace. The rule came into effect from April this year.But, he problem is, booking clerks are implementing it on a pick-and-choose basis.
On Monday, Poulami Basak, a resident of Bhadrakali near Uttarpara, went to the booking counter at Bally station to purchase an MST. She was unaware of the rule. Luckily, she was carrying her Election Photo Identity Card. On producing the EPIC, the booking clerk refused to issue the MST. According to him, she would have to get the MST from a station closer to her home. Poulami, who teaches in a school in Panduah, was flummoxed.
“The booking clerk is well within his rights to demand a residential proof. He may even deny an MST if somebody wants it from a station that is not close to where the commuter lives. In some cases, the booking clerks don’t insist upon checking the residential proof on good faith. We are simply following the guidelines,” said R N Mahapatra, CPRO, Eastern Railway.
Indian Railways made these rules as per a ‘holistic’ plan submitted by the Railway Board chairman before the Allahabad high court in 2013. In this plan, it has been stated: “Only one season ticket is issued to a passenger to travel between the stations serving his place of residence and place of work/studies. The applicant will have to mention address of his residence as well as the place where he works or studies.”