Wife travelled by Indian Railways from Chennai to Bombay via 12164 Chennai Express on 5th July 2014 which arrived into Bombay on 6th July 2014. She was travelling on a 2 tier A.C. ticket. Right from the outset at Chennai itself there was a rip off by Indian Railways as the 2 tier A.C. compartment had only 20 seats against the normal 64 seats in any compartment. With the result that the 2 tier A.C. passengers were forced to sit in 3 tier A.C. seats. The compartment was a combination of 2 tier A.C. and 3 tier A.C. seats.
The TTE (travelling ticket examiner) did not bother to offer any explanation nor any apology for this fracas and they were told by the regular maintenance staff of the Indian railways that this is a regular practice by the Indian Railways wherein the 2 tier class A.C. passengers are forced to sit in the 3 tier A.C. On top of it the TTE also forced the passengers to pay the difference in fares owing to the recent hike in fares by the Indian Railways. Therefore the passengers were paying the normal 2 tier A.C. ticket fare and they were forced to travel in 3 tier A.C. berths.
There was no prior intimation via SMS or any other means by the IRCTC wherein the passengers should have been informed by the Indian railways of the change in their status.
If this is a regular practice going on, then surely it is a scam in the making or a full fledged scam with the connivance of the higher authorities.
People book 2 tier A.C. berths due to the relatively better comfort it provides in terms of the extra space available in the compartment, less no. of passengers using the toilets, the privacy provided by the curtains etc. When people travel for long duration such as this train which takes 24 hours to reach from Chennai to Bombay, they obviously would want to travel in better comfort for which they are paying a premium amount on the 2 tier A.C. berths.
The passengers who suffered thus should be refunded the difference in fares and compensated for the mental tension and trauma that was created due to this fracas by Indian Railways.
The TTE (travelling ticket examiner) did not bother to offer any explanation nor any apology for this fracas and they were told by the regular maintenance staff of the Indian railways that this is a regular practice by the Indian Railways wherein the 2 tier class A.C. passengers are forced to sit in the 3 tier A.C. On top of it the TTE also forced the passengers to pay the difference in fares owing to the recent hike in fares by the Indian Railways. Therefore the passengers were paying the normal 2 tier A.C. ticket fare and they were forced to travel in 3 tier A.C. berths.
There was no prior intimation via SMS or any other means by the IRCTC wherein the passengers should have been informed by the Indian railways of the change in their status.
If this is a regular practice going on, then surely it is a scam in the making or a full fledged scam with the connivance of the higher authorities.
People book 2 tier A.C. berths due to the relatively better comfort it provides in terms of the extra space available in the compartment, less no. of passengers using the toilets, the privacy provided by the curtains etc. When people travel for long duration such as this train which takes 24 hours to reach from Chennai to Bombay, they obviously would want to travel in better comfort for which they are paying a premium amount on the 2 tier A.C. berths.
The passengers who suffered thus should be refunded the difference in fares and compensated for the mental tension and trauma that was created due to this fracas by Indian Railways.
.png)