The Hindu Business Line : Passenger upgradation scheme extended to more trains

IF you are a waitlisted passenger after February 6 in any of the Rajdhani Express trains or some other select trains, then you could be one of those lucky ones to get a confirmed ticket on the next higher class of travel — for no extra charges.

If extended to all trains, the Railways expects to earn an estimated revenue Rs 500 crore yearly, besides 2 per cent improvement in passenger load.

If extended to all trains, Railways expects to earn an estimated revenue Rs 500 crore yearly besides two per cent improvement in passenger load. The increase in earnings would accrue because in the normal course the Railways would have lost payments from waitlisted passengers who could not be accommodated.

The Railways has decided to expand its recently launched upgradation scheme for full fare paying waitlisted passengers to the next higher class to all the Rajdhani Express trains and another 15 pairs of trains, said a release.

The scheme is being extended because of the successful experiments carried out earlier in which the Railways earned Rs 3 lakh revenue through the scheme.

The 15 pairs of trains include Sampoorn Kranti Express (Patna-Delhi); AP Express (Secunderabad-New Delhi); Karnataka Express (Bangalore-New Delhi); Prayagraj Express (Allahabad-New Delhi); North East Express (Guwahati-New Delhi); Purushottam Express (Puri-New Delhi); Mumbai-Jaipur Express; Tamil Nadu Express (Chennai-New Delhi); Kerala Express (Thiruvananthapuram-New Delhi); Koromandal Express (Howrah-Chennai); Geetanjali Express (CSTM-Howrah); Shivganga Express (Varanasi-New Delhi); Lokshakti Express (Mumbai-Ahmedabad); Gujarat Mail (Mumbai-Ahmedabad) and Hyderabad Express (Chennai-Hyderabad), it added.

The facility is being provided without any additional financial burden on the passengers. It is being extended to all passengers unless they turn down the offer, while filling the requisition forms.

An analysis of 200 passengers, who were given feedback coupons, shows that most of the passengers lauded the scheme but have commented that the announcement system should be strengthened so that more people are aware of the scheme.

The scheme is being implemented in a large number of trains and if this is successful, RAC passengers will also be covered under the scheme. The scheme will be fully implemented in all the trains, in all probability, before the budget, it added.