Chennai: Railways runs fewer services, makes people pay more for berths under premium tatkal

CHENNAI: People are made to pay fares on a par with flights in premium tatkal category for berths on trains as railways does not have enough services to cater to the high demand on almost all routes from the city.
Tickets are being sold under premium tatkal category in the range of ₹2500 to ₹8500 which is several fold higher than normal fare. The premium tatkal has dynamic pricing which means ticket prices increase based on demand.
People who are trying to travel as schools and colleges are reopening are forced to spend more as berths are on waitlist on trains connecting Chennai with cities including Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Madurai, Thiruvananthapuram and others. People who try to book premium tatkal as general category and tatkal catergory are full see the fare shoot up within minutes after booking begins at 10 am.
The whole idea of using dynamic pricing for tatkal quota in the garb of premium tatkal means people who do not have the money or dont want to go through touts cannot travel, said P Nishant Kumar, a frequent traveller.
"The demand will be higher for tatkal as many people will be trying to get confirmed berths. They end up paying fares which are more or less the same as air fares. But they travel on the poorly maintained coaches," he added.
The premium tatkal fare is ₹3,140 to Nagercoil, ₹3,165 to Thiruvananthapuram, ₹5,700 to Mumbai and ₹6,925 for AC II tier, ₹4, 200 for AC II tier and ₹2,845 on AC III tier to Madurai, ₹2,000 on Chennai Egmore to Kollam express for travel on Sunday. In Coromandal Express the premium tatkal fare was ₹8,260 to Chennai for booking on Saturday morning. Tatkal tickets are booked a day in advance.
Sadagopan, a consumer activist, said the railways should rethink the policy of premium tatkal with dynamic pricing. There are not enough trains to cater to the demand for travel. Trains are more or less a service in many areas where there are no other option for people. The facilities passengers get onboard is also the same though they are paying more than 100% higher fare to get a confirmed berth. Railways should operate additional trains rather than forcing people to pay. Railways has also scrapped senior citizen concessions but has introduced dynamic pricing for many trains making people to pay more he added.