Over 3 lakh tickets cancelled in fortnight, rlys suffers ₹20cr loss
Over 3 lakh tickets cancelled in fortnight, rlys suffers ₹20cr loss
LUDHIANA
Amid coronavirus outbreak, over 3 lakh passengers got their tickets cancelled in past 16 days in the Ferozepur division, causing a loss of over ₹20 crore to the railways.
The Ferozepur division of Northern Railways covers parts of Punjab, Jammu & Kashmir and Himachal Pradesh having 235 railway stations.
As per the data shared by Ferozepur division authorities, tickets of 3.23 lakh passengers were cancelled between March 1 and 16 and ₹20.79 crore was refunded. The division suffered a loss of ₹8.34 crore (around 67%) as compared to the same period in 2019. In the corresponding period last year, the division refunded ₹12.45 crore against the cancellation of 1.9 lakh tickets.
Senior divisional commercial manager Vivek Sharma said due to coronavirus fear, passengers are avoiding travel and are getting their tickets cancelled. The new bookings are also less, he said.
A total of 8,347 passengers got their tickets cancelled on March 1 and the number rose to 41,223 on March 16.
In Ludhiana alone, ₹12.9 lakh was refunded in last six days for the cancellation of 1,208 tickets.