Passengers without tickets take over the AC sleeper coach on a train; Railway Seva responds

There are a lot of difficulties while traveling on Indian railways, and one of the most common is overcrowding. People are seen crowding the AC compartments and shutting the coaches from inside in a video that is now doing the rounds on social media. “Ticketless travellers ‘occupied’ the AC sleeper coach. Did someone mention a bullet train?” commented an X user when they posted this video recently.

The film brought to light serious flaws in Indian Railways’ day-to-day operations. Many commenters called for harsh punishments for those who board trains without reservations or switch from their unreserved carriage to the AC coach. Many others, on the other hand, pointed out that punishing passengers is simply a temporary fix and that the government should instead improve the frequency of trains on popular lines.

There have also been accusations that the Indian Railways has been substituting sleeper or second-class coaches with more costly AC coaches, increasing the tension in unreserved carriages and making train travel unaffordable for many. This sometimes compels passengers to relocate to less packed cabins.

“We request you to please share the journey details (PNR/UTS No.) and Mobile No. with us, preferably via DM,” Railway Seva responded to the video as soon as it got viral. For prompt resolution, you may also contact Indian Railways directly at http://railmadad.indianrailways.gov.in or by calling 139.

A user on X said, “People desperately need to travel, but trains are full.” Strict measures won’t make things better. For example, we need additional trains on congested lines as answers.

“You want to penalize people who are forced to get into AC coaches because government has reduced sleeper coaches and trains in favor of unaffordable AC trains,” commented a second commenter, opposing punishment. You expect the impoverished to do what? Stroll?

We need a statistic on the number of general/sleeper compartments that are eliminated on popular train lines, someone said. This is undoubtedly the outcome of the overall compartment shrinkage, and the tendency has become worse since COVID. The government won’t understand this till these individuals join a vandhe Bharat in this manner.

Additionally, several recommended “access control” systems and a more sophisticated ticketing architecture. “The railways should seriously consider providing access controlled systems at all stations,” made a suggestion by an X user. It will be challenging for many at first, but with time, they will adjust. similar to the metro. But putting such a system in place nationally would be very difficult.

Another reader made a similar point when they stated, “From a recent experience, travelers admitted inside the station by a scan of their ticket and just minutes before their train arrives in Europe. What prevents us from doing the same? If we can’t control those crowds, get rid of the coaches that don’t need reservations.

The government operates special trains and reroutes extra trains on congested lines to alleviate congestion during the holiday season, but these steps are not carried out during the rest of the year, so the problem persists.