Residents of and visitors to Kundapura in Udupi district have been denied the services of a railway passenger reservation system (PRS) for six months as the one at the head post office in the town is non-functional due to connectivity issues.
Konkan Railway Corporation Ltd. (KRCL) has not set up a PRS counter in the station, and has no plans to do so citing the shift to online booking.
Kundapura MLA Halady Srinivas Shetty wrote to the KRCL Chairman and Managing Director saying the India Post PRS has failed the people of his constituency. He said, among other things, it remains closed on holidays, postal staff would be busy during tatkal booking hours, staff do not have adequate ticketing knowledge.
Kumta-Honnavar MLA and Konkan Railway Users’ Consultative Committee member K. Dinakar Shetty also wrote a letter demanding PRS at Kundapura Railway Station. Udupi-Chikkamagaluru MP and Union Minister of State Shobha Karandlaje too had sought the facility way back in 2019. However, KRCL did not respond to any of the requests, according to Kundapura Railu Hitharakshana Samithi (KRHS).
KRHS president Ganesh Puthran said KRCL’s negative attitute to the genuine demand of passengers was appalling as the Corporation was established to serve the people of coastal Karnataka. Another member Gautam Shetty said an average of 100 advance tickets were issued daily through the PRS ion the post office in 2017-18 while many stations on the KRCL network that issue fewer number of tickets have PRS at railheads. He estimates that 49% of passengers continue to book tickets through PRS while the remaining opt for online booking.
Superintendent of Posts, Udupi district, Naveenchandar said despite writing many letters to railways and BSNL to restore connectivity, nothing was done to address the issue.
KRCL’s Chief Public Relations Officer and Chief Commercial Manager L.K. Verma said BSNL was not addressing the connectivity issue with India Post PRS despite repeated reminders. Regarding opening a PRS at Kundapura Railway Station, he said more than 80% of passengers book tickets online and KRCL is, in fact, closing PRS counters in many places.