Ticket windows at post offices big hit

A joint effort of the department of post and the Railways to offer railway ticket windows has been beneficial to not only these two parties, but also the passengers. During the celebration of National Postal Week recently, the postal department pledged to carry on this robust growth in revenue. “We are overwhelmed by the robust response we have received, and now plans are on to popularise it among customers from our channels,” said Col K.C. Mishra, chief postmaster general of the Maharashtra circle.

Figures obtained from the department of post show that when this facility was launched in May 2009, an average 7,625 tickets were issued per month from around five per cent of post offices in Mumbai region. Seeing the initial response, the postal department and the Railways upgraded the scheme by adding more post centres and the number of post office centres went up to 18. Accordingly, more numbers of passengers came forward and in the first five months of the current financial year, 55,909 tickets were issued per month. Since this scheme has been launched, the postal department has earned `3.4 crore as commission in revenue. The department levies commission of `15 for a sleeper class ticket, `20 for 3-tier and AC chair car and `30 for AC 2-tier and AC first class. It also levies a cancellation charge of `10 flat for tickets of any class.
“As per the Railway board’s policy, we have been very receptive to post office’s demand as this initiative has proved beneficial for all the parties involved in it,” said Atul Rane, chief public relations officer of the Central Railway.