People going to railway stations to see off their friends and loved ones are also making a big contribution to the earnings of the railways. Prayagraj division of North Central Railway (NCR) earned an impressive over ₹64.48 lakh revenue from the sale of platform tickets in three months from December 2023 to February 2024, officials said citing railway records.
During the same period, over ₹15.87 lakh was earned at Prayagraj junction station alone, they added. At present, the platform ticket costs ₹10 and is valid for 2 hours from the time of purchase.
As per records, from December 2023 to February 2024, a total of 6,44,882 platform tickets were sold at railway stations under Prayagraj division. This earned a revenue of ₹64,48,820 for the railways.
During the same period last year, records show, a total of 6,19,207 platform tickets were sold at railway stations of Prayagraj division and this helped the railways earn an income of ₹61,92,070.
If one looks at the record of Prayagraj junction alone, almost one fourth of the total income generated from sale of platform tickets at all stations of the division came from just this busy station.
Here, a total of 1,50,783 people bought platform tickets in the said time period which helped the railways earn ₹15,87,830. During the same period last year, a total income of ₹15,11,150 was earned by selling 1,51,115 tickets at Prayagraj junction, records show.
“If someone comes to the railway platform and does not have a travel ticket, they have to buy a platform ticket or invite a fine. Awareness about this is continuously being spread due to which people coming to platforms to see off friends and relatives are now increasingly buying it,” said Amit Singh, PRO, Prayagraj division of NCR.
Until a few years ago, a platform ticket cost just ₹3, which was later increased to ₹5 and during the Covid period, it was increased to ₹50. The reason for increasing the price of platform tickets significantly during the pandemic was to reduce crowd at railway stations. Later, it was reduced to ₹10.
The NCR’s R-Wallet service seems to be gaining popularity. If one takes unreserved tickets in consideration, Prayagraj division of the NCR earned ₹39,17,935 by selling 1,82,057 tickets just through the mobile app and ATM machines.
If compared with last year, the number of passengers increased by 51.99% and due to which the income increased by 56.38% during the same period, said officials.
Railways had started R-Wallet facility to provide better facilities to its passengers. Senior divisional commercial manager Himanshu Shukla of NCR’s Prayagraj division is continuously making efforts to publicise this option.
Railway tickets can be booked through the UTS app for travel of up to 50 km from the station. In February 2024, 20,553 tickets were sold and which had generated an income of ₹25,05,465 for Prayagraj division.
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