TTEs balk at collecting excess fares from train passengers

The passengers, who have reserved their railway tickets in advance, will now have to pay the increased fare if they will be travelling on June 25 or after that.

This has left the railway Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTE) worried, as they will have to collect the excess amount of fare (increased fare) from the passengers while checking the tickets on the train. The TTEs say the collection of excess amount will burden them.

A senior TTE, requesting anonymity, said, “This is like a torture to us. We are already overburdened due to shortage of staff, and now we will have to collect the excess amount too. Authorities should understand that passengers don’t give money so easily and it’s really hard and time consuming to convince them.”

Most of the people book their tickets in advance for travelling in reserved coach. The 14.2% fare hike will be effective from June 25. Thus, if a person has booked tickets before June 25, the tickets will be given old prices, but the increased amount will be collected during their journey.

Chief inspector (CIT) Manohar Lal Prashar said, “Mostly the passengers are not aware about the increase in fare, and if some of them are aware, they don’t agree on paying the amount. It’s like a burden on us and in the wake of staff shortage, this burden will get doubled. Indian Railways should find a solution for collecting the excess amount for the tickets reserved in advance.”