<पी शैली="पाठ-संरेखण: औचित्य सिद्ध करें;">Trains in India transport millions of people to their destinations every day. It is a major means of transport and most of the people in the country consider railways as the cheapest and fastest option for long distances. There are lakhs of passengers traveling by different trains who travel from office to home and from home to office by train every day.
People come to the website of Railways or IRCTC to get information about which train will run at what time, in which berth there is a seat. This website of IRCTC is one of the most hit websites in the world, it gets an average of 12 lakh hits every minute.
However, despite all the facilities provided by Indian Railways, passengers have to face the most problems during festivals. Many passengers say that even if tickets are booked 3 months in advance, they are not able to get a confirmed seat. Indian Railways has now prepared a plan to eliminate this problem.
What is the next plan?
In fact, to deal with the perennial problem of waitlisted tickets during festivals, the central government has planned to run 3,000 additional mail, express and passenger trains on its network in the next 4-5 years. According to the government report, at present about 800 crore people travel by train every year and this number may reach 1,000 crore in the coming five years, which will require large-scale expansion.
According to Railway Ministry sources, currently 10748 trains are running every day. Before the Corona epidemic, the number of these trains was 10,186. But a target has been set to increase this number to 13000 in the coming 4-5 years. Apart from this, Railways is increasing the track every year for the convenience of passengers. Now a new network of 4 to 5 thousand kilometers of track has been built. According to sources in the Railway Ministry, there is a plan to launch 3000 more new trains on the track in the coming 3-4 years.
Passengers troubled by rising fares
Everyone is eager to go home during festival time. In such a situation, long waiting list is not only a cause of trouble for the people, but apart from this, the increasing train fare during festivals in the last few years is also becoming a big reason to stop people from travelling. This time the situation seems even worse. Train fares are beating plane fares. Even after festivals the fares are sky high.
For example, we made an inquiry on the official website of Indian Railways, IRCTC, for the train of 21 November from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminal to Patna Junction. During this time the first train that comes is Mumbai-Patna Suvidha Express. For November 21, the waiting list in sleeper class is 20 and the fare is Rs 2,625. On checking the break up of the fare, it is found that the basic fare for traveling by this train is Rs 857. There is a reservation charge of Rs 20 and a super fast charge of Rs 30.
Now the thing that is making the biggest difference in fare increase is the dynamic fare. The break up shows a dynamic fair of Rs 1,714. Which is straight double of the basic fare. The total fare is thus becoming more than three times the original fare.
You will be surprised to hear the fare of third AC
In the same train, there were 36 tickets in third AC. In case of third AC, the base fare is Rs 2,083. On top of that, it is mandatory for the person booking the ticket to pay a reservation charge of Rs 40 and a super fast charge of Rs 45. Talking about dynamic fare, in this case also the basic fare is becoming double i.e. Rs 4,166. GST of Rs 317 is applicable on third AC ticket. In this way, the total fare for November 21 is reaching Rs 6,655.
What does the general public say?
25 year old Vivek, resident of Patna, has been studying in Delhi for the last 5 years. While talking to ABP, he said that Chhath or Diwali are two such festivals in which his entire family meets each other. Vivek also tries to go home every year at least on this festival. He said that despite having booked the train ticket from Delhi to Patna two months ago, this time his ticket was not confirmed and ultimately he had to take the help of bus. He said that even on normal days, it becomes very difficult to get tickets confirmed in one go, in such a situation, what to say during festivals, yes, we face a lot of difficulty in going to our homes and we will request the Bihar government and the central government to At least during these two festivals, efforts should be made to provide such facilities that people can go to their homes without any hassle.
In response to the same question of ABP, 22 year old Anmol Pathak said that the train fare is so expensive that we have to think even before getting the ticket. He said that the government should give some relaxation to the students. Even in Delhi, we somehow manage to pay house rent and college fees. In such a situation, when you have to buy a ticket worth Rs 5,000 to go home, you have to think.
54 year old Dhirendra Kumar, while talking to ABP, said that during the festival season, the fares increase everywhere from train to bus, the crowd becomes so much that there is no space left to breathe in the train or bus, in such a situation the maximum The problem becomes with the children. My family wants to go home every Chhath-Diwali, but to avoid this crowd, we try to go either 10 days before the beginning of the festival or only after the festival. He said that the railway network is the largest network in the world, therefore the government should take care of the convenience of the passengers. It is clear from the number of train accidents happening at present that the railway administration is slowing down somewhere.
Most Googled questions about Indian Railways
When did the train start in India?
The first train was started in India on 16 April 1853. The first train was run from Bori Bunder in Mumbai to Thane. The length of this route was about 34 kilometers.
When did the train service between Delhi and Kolkata start?
Train service was started for the first time between Delhi and Kolkata in the year 1864. At that time there was no bridge on the Yamuna river in Prayagraj, so the train coaches were taken across the river by boat.
Free train travel?
A train runs between Bhakra and Nangal, for which tickets are not charged. Bhakra and Nangal are present on the border of Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. You can travel by this train for free. This journey is about 13 kilometers long.
