Govind D Belgaumkar/The Hindu
- Of the seven, only two counters are functioning, normally at Kankanady
- The rush is attributed to festival season
- Token system on Thrissur-model likely to be introduced
Mangalore, Sep 12: Long queues in front of reservation counters at the Mangalore Central Railway Station have been a cause of worry for commuters of the region.
Although there are seven counters at the station, only two function normally.
“Each time I want to book a train ticket, I stand in the queue for at least one hour. Last week I had to wait in the queue for more than 90 minutes to book a ticket to Delhi. I need to take time off from my employers only to book tickets,” said Joesph James, a sales manager of a local firm. Abdul Rasheed, a retired engineer from Kannur, said the queue was moving at a slow pace. Already having spent 30 minutes on the queue when The Hindu met him, he said that it might take another 30 minutes for his turn. “They should have more counters at least during festival season,” he said.
“Railway management here is poor,” said Renny Fernandes, who works for a school in Thrissur. Expressing regret for not booking the return ticket at Thrissur, she said that in her place, there was a ‘token-system’ whereby people would not be required to stand in queues. She and her friend, a teacher, said they were in the queue for 45 minutes.
Syed, who usually books tickets at Mangalore Junction, the erstwhile Kankanady station, said that earlier, long queues were restricted to Mangalore Central. Mary O.S.S.S., a nun with St. Bridget’s Hostel here, said she had to do away with her shopping for booking a ticket to Coimbatore. “It is a sheer waste of time,” she said.
Area officer of Southern Railways, responsible for Mangalore operations, A Md. Nisar, said the rush was because of festive season. On other occasions, people could get tickets in 20 minutes. However, he said that he would study the situation and discuss the same with the divisional headquarters at Palakkad for a solution, if warranted. Introduction of the token system was on the cards, he said.
He urged people to make use of the reservation facility at Mangalore Junction for he had seen people of that region coming to Mangalore Central for booking tickets.