WR to install dual display screen to curb overcharging passengers

The Western Railway in Mumbai is testing a dual display information screen to be installed outside ticket booths, aiming to prevent passengers from being overcharged. The screen will show journey information and total fare, making the booking process more transparent for passengers. This measure is especially aimed at labourers and migrant workers who often end up paying more at ticket counters. The screen will also be used for information and advertisement purposes. The railway authorities hope that this system will help curb incidents of passengers being overcharged.

Mumbai: In a bid to simplify and make the railway ticket booking procedure transparent, especially for the labourers and migrant workers, who end up paying more money at the ticket booking counters, the Western Railway (WR) is trying out a measure that could prevent passengers from being wrongly overcharged.

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A dual display information screen is being tried and tested which will be installed outside the ticket booths. When a passenger books a train ticket for a long-distance journey from the ticket window counter at the station, the information about the journey and total fare is clearly displayed on the screen. This screen will be like a large 32-36-inch TV set installed vertically next to the ticket window connected to the computerised system of the ticket window. The screen will show the departing station and destination, total fare, and passenger names among other details in multilingual form.

“With this dual display screen, everything that the staff seated on the ticket booking window does in the system is visible to the passenger outside. We are working out the correct font size, pattern of information to be displayed and other parameters for this system which will be installed at ticket counters. We want to make it more interactive and animated so that it’s understandable to everyone. We will keep the total ticket amount in a large font for everyone to see clearly,” explained a WR official on condition of anonymity.

The WR authorities have already given the contract after the tendering process. Some portion of this screen will be used for information and advertisement purposes. According to sources in the railways, there have been allegations in the past where the personnel sitting at the ticket counter charges extra in the name of Superfast fare or Express fare and pockets the amount.

Explaining it further, a railway police official said that there have been instances where in the morning hours and when tatkal booking is on; passengers are in a hurry and after paying the fare amount, the change in return is paid less by the unscrupulous staff and pocket the balance. The passenger associations also support this proposed system which they feel will curb incidents of passengers especially those travelling in Sleeper and General Class getting fooled into paying higher fares.

The migrants and labourers are the ones who are usually gullible and end up paying unwanted charges or more than the fare. The railways should simplify the display board as much as possible for everyone to understand,” said Subhash Gupta, president, of Rail Yatri Parishad.

The train ticket bookings for summer vacation are expected to begin by the end of this month or February. The railways also introduce holiday special trains for the summer season as well.