Activists seek duplicate seasonal railway passes

The rush hour in Mumbai is beyond anybody’s imagination. Often people lose their wallets or get drenched in heavy rains. The seasonal train pass costs `3-4,000 on average. When the pass is lost, the holder is denied of using it and stands to lose out on his money. Railway activists have now asked the Western Railway (WR) and Central Railway (CR) to provide duplicate seasonal passes. The members have sent the proposal to WR general manager, A K Gupta, requesting it to issue a duplicate seasonal pass for a fee of `10.

Shashikant Payrekar, the chairman of Mumbai Suburban Railway Passenger Association, said the valid passes should be reissued for a nominal cost as it is justified.

“In the month of January, we sent the proposal asking the Railways to consider reissuing valid passes at a nominal cost of `10. It is unfair for the commuters to shell out `3,000 to `4,000 all over again for a duplicate pass,” said Paryekar.

He further said, “It is not tough for the railways and they have no excuse to reject the proposal, as they have all the details of commuters in the railways database.

In January, we sent the proposal asking the Railways to consider reissuing valid passes at a nominal cost of `10. It is unfair for the commuters to shell out `3,000 to `4,000 all over again for a duplicate pass.

The amount we asked for is affordable for the commuters.”

Senior railway official said a decision is yet to be taken. He indicated chances of the proposal’s acceptance are slim, as both the Central and Western railways do provide duplicate passes at half the original cost.

“We issue duplicate passes to the commuters. But the commuters need to resubmit the documents, which they had submitted at the time of the gtetting the original pass. However, the amount they have proposed is not acceptable to the railways,” said the official.