Henceforth, the Railways will not run any Premium trains to cater to extra passenger rush; instead, it would operate Suvidha trains after tweaking certain rules and provisions with whom the travelling public were not comfortable with.
The major disadvantage of Premium trains, introduced last year, was the restriction to buy tickets only online, that too before 15 days of the journey. Passengers were aghast that not everyone had online booking facility. For Suvidha trains, one can also book tickets across the passenger reservation counters and the reservation period is extended to 30 days.
A circular issued by the Ministry of Railways last month has also dealt with the issue of fares. While Premium trains offered dynamic fares, which passengers could not comprehend properly, Suvidha trains would have fixed fares. On each Suvidha train, 20 per cent of the seats would be sold at base fare plus tatkal fare; 1.5 times of base fare plus tatkal; two times of fare plus tatkal; 2.5 times of fare plus tatkal and three times of base fare plus tatkal fare. If any berth remains unsold during preparation of the journey chart, they could be sold through current booking counters for the last sold price.
Premium facilities
South Western Railway General Manager P.K. Saxena told The Hindu that facilities onboard Suvidha trains would be similar to Premium trains. The Railway Board has asked zonal Railways to ensure top quality linen, catering, coach maintenance, etc., on Suvidha trains, he said. Also, punctuality of these trains should be given top priority.
Mr. Saxena said that whatever Premium trains South Western Railway had operated last year would be operated as Suvidha trains this year. Suvidha train services are over and above services of normal trains and special trains on tatkal fares. While Suvidha trains normally should not be cancelled after being announced, full refund of fare would be admissible up to 72 hours after the scheduled departure, if the service is cancelled. K.N. Krishnaprasad, a retired Union government officer, welcomed the Ministry’s decision and said that Premium trains were not patronised because of inherent policy defects, such as only online sale of tickets.
