The Indian Railways is all set to start in a new phase. Luxury trains have come into wide use. Slowly and steadily, the existing system is being modified, to make its services effective. The rules of senior citizen quota and concession are revised to put an end to its misuse. The facilities provided to the senior citizens are extended in this regard. Men aged above 60 and women aged above 58 can avail concession of fare in any train class. This concession in fare is provided up to 40% for men and 50% for women. These facilities provided to senior citizen’s isn’t just confined to the concession in ticket fares. Check out the other benefits provided in this context:
- In the passenger reservation system (PRS), senior citizens and women above 45 years of age will be allotted with lower berths in the train.
- Senior citizens, women above 45 years and pregnant women can be benefitted with a combined quota of two lower berths.
- Much to the delight of the physically challenged people, wheelchairs are provided at railway stations.
- There will be separate counters to issue tickets to the senior citizens at PRS centers.
The current system of booking is so designed that you don’t have to carry the proof of age when you are booking the tickets. However, you have to provide them at the time of inspection. You can provide any government issued identity card as proof of age. Failing to provide the age proof on demand, a fine, which is equal to the difference between the fares will be charged against the passenger. The Indian railways have found the services being misused in the following ways extensively:
- While booking tickets, since the passenger doesn’t have to provide any age proof, he/she books the ticket by providing wrong age. Many a times they go undetected, which results in huge revenue loss to the railways.
- The lower berths are booked under the disguise of senior citizens. When detected, the passenger pays the difference in fares.
- The travel agents out there are highly exploiting these services. The tickets are booked under senior citizens quota and further these agents modify the age and fare in the e-ticket. The passenger fails to notice this and falls into their trap. It is because of such reasons, the Indian railways are trying hard to put an end to these agents.
Pay close to these aspects, when you are checking out for the train seat availability. In accordance with the above issues, the Indian railways have announced its modified rules. They are as follows:
- The ticket fare is also included in the PNR status.
- If any passenger is found misusing the senior citizen quota, that particular person will be treated as ticketless and charges are made accordingly.
- If found guilty, a penalty is charged against the passenger in addition to the fare difference.
Clear instructions are also passed to the ticket checking staff regarding this issue. The staff members are expected to be patient when dealing with such passengers. The customers can report to the designated authorities if they are harassed by the ticket checking staff.