Railways’ `thick card tickets’ to be replaced soon
The train tickets distributed in halt stations, which are stops not included in the station lists of the railway, are going to be modified. The 2 mm thick cardboard tickets of the older times are going to be replaced with new form of ticket.
The pilot project has been implemented in four stations in Kerala. The new ticket system has been introduced in Iravipuram in Kollam and Nellayi in Thrissur, both under Thiruvananthapuram division, and also Mankara under Ottapalam station and Perassannur under Kuttippuram station, both under Palakkad division.
The card ticket will be replaced with computerized ticket in Nellayi. The contractor will buy the tickets printed with the destination and ticket charge, from Irinjalakkuda station. The date of journey will be sealed from Nellayi. If informed in advance, season tickets also will be made available.
Only passenger trains stop in the halt stations, that too for one minute. There are no facilities like computer, telephone or electricity in such stations. The railways print the card tickets separately. Only tickets to short distances are available in the halt stations. The expense to produce the thick card ticket is more than the passenger travel expense. Station maintenance and ticket distribution are handled by the contractors.
