Touts in Railway Reservation System
Indian Railways takes measures to ensure that common man’s access to the railway ticketing system is not affected. Some cases of touting activities come to notice during checks conducted by Railways, particularly during peak rush period/festival seasons.
· 772 touts were prosecuted and 135 convicted during last three months i.e. April, May and June, 2015.
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No case of involvement of Railway officials in allotment of HOR Quota has come to notice of Railway Board Vigilance.
· To facilitate travel for the passengers during peak rush period and to ensure availability of train tickets to ‘Common Man’, regular and preventive checks against touting activities are conducted. This is an ongoing continuous process. Other steps taken by Railways in this regard are as follows:
Ø Surveillance at reservation offices has been stepped up by installing Close Circuit Television at important Passenger Reservation System locations, to keep watch on any possible touting activities. Booking pattern at reservation offices are also monitored for detecting unusual pattern and fraudulent working of touts.
Ø Carrying of prescribed original Identity Proof has been made compulsory for one of the passengers while undertaking journey in reserved class. Ticket checking staff have also been asked to be more vigilant and conduct proper/thorough checks of prescribed proofs of identity of passengers undertaking journey in reserved coaches.
Ø Touting activities occur due to gap between demand and supply of reserved accommodations. To meet the additional demand of reserved accommodation, especially during festivals and peak rush periods, special train are run, carrying capacity of existing trains is augmented depending upon the pattern of traffic, operational feasibility and availability of resources.
Ø General public are also educated through Public Address System and media, not to buy tickets from touts/unscrupulous element and consequences of buying tickets from these sources.
Ø To curb malpractices by Railway Staff in connivance with touts, checks are conducted in booking offices, reservation offices, trains etc. Stringent action is taken against the railway staff under Disciplinary and Appeal Rules, if found indulging in malpractices.
This information was given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha today.