Barely hours after Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee announced radical changes in the Tatkal ticket reservation scheme, her ministry hailed it as a “people-friendly” move. In doing so, it only exposed how Railways had fleeced unsuspecting passengers over the past few years with a scheme that served railway coffers more than passenger interests.

In her Rail Budget speech on Friday, Mamata announced reduction in the advance booking period of Tatkal tickets from five days to two, primarily to thwart the travel agents who book most of the Tatkal tickets five days in advance.

She also said that Tatkal tickets will now be made available “destination-wise instead of from end to end”, thereby making these tickets cheaper.

A passenger traveling with a Tatkal ticket from Delhi to Patna on the Howrah-Rajdhani train had to pay the full fare from Delhi to Howrah besides Rs 15 to Rs 300 as Tatkal charges. The Railways often argued that if a passenger wanted a ticket to an intermediate station on a long-distance train, he would deprive an end-to-end passenger of a berth and would also rob the Railway of revenue. So, in order to make up for Railway’s revenue loss, the passenger was made to pay the end-to-end fare. After today’s announcement, the same Delhi to Patna passenger on the Howrah Rajdhani will have to pay the fare from Delhi to Patna only.

Besides, the Railways has also decided to reduce the Tatkal charges—which will now be levied as percentage of the fare—from Rs 300 to Rs 200 for AC 2 and AC 3 Tier coaches, from Rs 150 to Rs 100 for AC Chair Car and Sleeper and from Rs 15 to Rs 10 for Second Seating Class coaches.

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