Railway Board changes rules to prevent misuse of senior citizen quota

HIGHLIGHTS
• The Railway Board has changed rules to prevent misuse of senior citizen quota.
• This unscrupulous tactic is used by agents to book more comfortable lower berths.
• In case this transgression is not detected by the TTE, it results in loss of revenue for railways.

The Railway Board has changed rules to prevent misuse of senior citizen quota and other concessions by ticketing agents.

CHENNAI:

In a commercial circular issued on Thursday, the Railway Board noted that passengers book ticket under senior citizen quota by giving a wrong age, thereby availing a 40% (for males aged 60) and 50% (for females above 58) concession on their ticket fare. This is because identity proof is not required while booking the ticket.

When detected by travelling ticket examiners (TTEs) while validating with proof of identity, they pay the difference of fare. In addition, this unscrupulous tactic is also used by agents to book more comfortable lower berths, which are reserved for the benefit of senior citizens.

"Agents book the ticket by giving wrong a declaration of age and subsequently modify e-ticket by giving correct age and dupe the passengers," the circular noted.

In case this transgression is not detected by the TTE, it results in loss of revenue for railways.

To set this right, the Railway Board has directed that whenever any passenger is found travelling by declaring a wrong age to avail the senior citizen quota, they should be treated as travelling without ticket and penalised accordingly.

The new regulations will come into force on February 1.

The board has directed the CRIS (Centre for Railway Information Systems) and IRCTC (Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation) to make a provision in e-tickets where the full form of the quota under which the ticket has been booked is given so that the passengers are not cheated by unscrupulous ticketing agents.