[ghodlur]

Going slightly OT.

Had gone to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at Kurla to receive relatives last weekend, was horrified to see the condition of the terminus. The entire place stinked due to the deposits on the tracks. The Terminus has only one overbridge connecting the platforms and its at one end only. The other end, you would have to walk on the road. The security was totally lax as there was no one attending the beepers. Taking a platform ticket was an exercise in itself.

How does railways justify the cost of the tickets?

[msdivy]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

How does railways justify the cost of the tickets?

I feel railways must charge more and provide better infrastructure like,
1) Clean platforms, clean tracks near platforms.
2) Baggage carts like in airports
3) Elevators or walk ramps at every platform to haul baggage carts.

[binand]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Had gone to Lokmanya Tilak Terminus at Kurla to receive relatives last weekend, was horrified to see the condition of the terminus.

Ah. Fantasy meets reality. CR had come up with this dream about 18 months back:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...w/16845396.cms

[samdarshi.pali]

Originally Posted by ghodlur

Going slightly OT.
How does railways justify the cost of the tickets?

LTT is comparatively new railway station and expected to be better than others. BUT its railway management whose touch can turn Gold to garbage. There is no direct relation with cost of tickets and provided facilities/services.

[ghodlur]

Originally Posted by binand

Ah. Fantasy meets reality. CR had come up with this dream about 18 months back:

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/a...w/16845396.cms

Holy cow. 5-6K crores for the project. The railways planning department must be eating grass and getting high to come up with such escalated figures. Had they spent even 10% of the cost, the terminus would have competed with the world class stations.

To even get a platform ticket worth Rs 10, I had to wait for 30 minutes in a Queue fending off the suspected people who would barge to the ticket window. What would it cost to the Railways to install simple platforms ticket vending machines where inserting a 10 rs note or coins would produce a simple ticket. Arrgghhhh

[faustus77]

Hi everybody.
On the 2nd of April I booked a tickeat at Delhi PRS window for travel to Bombay on the same day. The chart wasnt prepared until then.
As fewer passengers were waiting at the counter where a debit card was accepted so I bought a ticket there.
Cost of the ticket was rs 3015 and I was debited rs 3121.12 by Union Bank, a charge of rs 106.12. This is prohibitive. Checked with the bank and they dont have a breakup.
Does anybody have any idea about these charges ? Have a vague recollection that the railways charge rs 30 for using a card. Am I right? In that case the bank's charge for debiting my account would be rs 86.12, nearly 3%. Isnt that excessive?
Regards

[binand]

Originally Posted by faustus77

Cost of the ticket was rs 3015 and I was debited rs 3121.12 by Union Bank, a charge of rs 106.12. This is prohibitive. Checked with the bank and they dont have a breakup.
Does anybody have any idea about these charges ?

Assuming non-SL class of travel, back of envelope:

Cost of ticket = 3015
Charge imposed by railways for using card = 50
Total due to IR = 3065
Card payment charges enforced by acquirer @1.65% = 50.57
Service tax on card payment charges charges @12.36% = 6.25
Total = 3121.82

(Doesn't strictly add up to your number, but you get the idea).

I generally don't like the idea of paying extra to use plastic, given that I'm taking on a lot of risk and also saving some cost for IR at the same time, but such is life. I wouldn't consider an extra Rs. 100 or so on a Rs. 3000+ upper class ticket prohibitive - if the alternative is standing in the PRS queue for maybe what, 1 hour?

One thing that occurs to me is that upper class train travel already has service tax applicable; so there is a bit of double taxation in that calculation.

One other thing - you got away cheap; service tax has been raised to 14% in the recent budget and there is an extra 2% applicable for funding Swatch Bharat Abhiyan (total 16%).

[faustus77]

Originally Posted by binand

Assuming non-SL class of travel, back of envelope:

Cost of ticket = 3015
Charge imposed by railways for using card = 50
Total due to IR = 3065
Card payment charges enforced by acquirer @1.65% = 50.57
Service tax on card payment charges charges @12.36% = 6.25
Total = 3121.82

(Doesn't strictly add up to your number, but you get the idea).

I generally don't like the idea of paying extra to use plastic, given that I'm taking on a lot of risk and also saving some cost for IR at the same time, but such is life. I wouldn't consider an extra Rs. 100 or so on a Rs. 3000+ upper class ticket prohibitive - if the alternative is standing in the PRS queue for maybe what, 1 hour?

One thing that occurs to me is that upper class train travel already has service tax applicable; so there is a bit of double taxation in that calculation.

One other thing - you got away cheap; service tax has been raised to 14% in the recent budget and there is an extra 2% applicable for funding Swatch Bharat Abhiyan (total 16%).

Bhinand
Hi.Thanks a lot for your post. All clear now.
Yes it was an upper class ticket viz AC I by Delhi Bombay Rajdhani.
It is sad that the government on one hand is advocating less cash transactions and on the other hand penalising for using a card. There is absolutely no justification when a DC is used as money is lying in the account and the bank charge us annual fees for it. Any way which way get revenue.
Regards

[avingodb]

Do RQWL tickets get confirmed?
I have one ticket to Gwalior on Chennai Rajdhani for the next weekend and it is RQWL since I booked 10 days ago.
I do have an alternate ticket but I am hoping this one gets confirmed.

[binand]

Originally Posted by avingodb

Do RQWL tickets get confirmed?
I have one ticket to Gwalior on Chennai Rajdhani for the next weekend and it is RQWL since I booked 10 days ago.

Where are you boarding from? I didn't even know that Rajdhanis could have RQWLs. Based on my understanding of RQWL (for non-Rajdhanis), they have the least chance of confirming, as you require cancellations from people with exactly the same source and destination stations or clusters.

If based on your profile you are boarding from the Delhi cluster, I wonder why you aren't in PQWL.

[avingodb]

Originally Posted by binand

Where are you boarding from?

I am boarding from Delhi. RQWL 1 since the day I booked. I think I will wait for another day and then cancel this ticket if it does not move.

[binand]

Originally Posted by avingodb

I am boarding from Delhi. RQWL 1 since the day I booked. I think I will wait for another day and then cancel this ticket if it does not move.

You mean Hazrat Nizamuddin.

Are you sure it is RQWL and not PQWL? The former is for journeys beginning in intermediate stations, the latter for those beginning from the train originating station. Your journey is of the latter type.

PQWL stand a better chance for confirming (though still very unlikely, at a guess).

[mercedised]

Originally Posted by avingodb

I am boarding from Delhi. RQWL 1 since the day I booked. I think I will wait for another day and then cancel this ticket if it does not move.

If the ticket is not confirmed it will automatically be cancelled.

[binand]

Originally Posted by mercedised

If the ticket is not confirmed it will automatically be cancelled.

Only if the ticket is booked online on IRCTC, isn't it? If it is booked at a B&M PRS location how can railways process refund?

Plus this automatic cancellation is only for tickets in which all passengers are waitlisted at the time of charting.

Btw, a long time back a waitlisted ticket was usable as an unreserved ticket... I have travelled Mumbai-Calicut serveral times on such tickets. Is this not the case now?

[TKMCE]

Originally Posted by binand

You mean Hazrat Nizamuddin.

Are you sure it is RQWL and not PQWL? The former is for journeys beginning in intermediate stations, the latter for those beginning from the train originating station. Your journey is of the latter type.

PQWL stand a better chance for confirming (though still very unlikely, at a guess).

binand

Since the train is the Chennai Rajdhani and the ticket for Delhi to Gwalior my understanding is it can be for RSWL (not RLWL or PQWL) as well since there may be distance restrictions for tickets booked ex Delhi on the Chennai Rajdhani So Delhi Gwalior tickets may get get confirmed only if the Gwallor Chennai ticket quota gets opened up.

In such a case a Gwalior Chennai cancellation can result in the Delhi Gwalior confirmation as well as a Gwalior Chennai confirmation.