TOI Impact: SWR directs TTEs not to penalise UTS app users; will collect difference fare

Hubballi: Responding to the TOI story ‘SWR penalising UTS app users due to confusion over train category', published on Saturday, the South Western Railway (SWR) initiated action to rectify the issue on a priority basis. The SWR admitted there was a lapse on UTS and instructed ticket examiners to collect only the difference amount, instead of a penalty, from UTS-using passengers. It also started action to show the trains as ‘Super Fast' on the app.
Entrepreneur Mahantesh Hurakadli, who was penalised for no fault of his own, told TOI that he received a call from Rail Madad staff saying his grievance was taken seriously after the TOI report. "The staff sought details of my ticket and receipt of the penalty. They said I was not supposed to be treated as a ticketless passenger and penalised, as I had a valid ticket. They also said that they are rectifying the confusion on UTS and NTES," he added.
Manjunath Kanamadi, chief PRO, SWR, Hubballi, said that they need to mention specifically that Train on Demand (TOD) has superfast fare in NTES and UTS on mobile, wherever it is not mentioned. "All Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs) will be advised to collect only the difference of fare in those trains," he added.
Meanwhile, sources in SWR said that a meeting was convened on Saturday and officials verified the facts mentioned in the TOI report. "We realised that there is confusion regarding ‘Train on Demand' and other terminologies on UTS and NTES apps. As an immediate measure, we instructed all TTEs not to consider UTS-using passengers as ticketless passengers. We also instructed TTEs to collect only the difference amount of Express/Mail and Super Fast, and they need not be penalised. For a permanent solution, we are taking action to use terminologies of Express/Mail or Super Fast instead of passenger special or express special. In the past, we wrote a letter to the Railway Board requesting to drop words like ‘Train on Demand' many times. We will request the board again to drop these words and use only the words that are mentioned in UTS," they explained.
When asked about whether there was any discussion to choose the train on UTS, they said it was discussed and concluded that it is not possible as they do not have the option of mentioning train numbers in unreserved tickets.