The direct train from Bandra to Vaishno Devi Katra station is turning out to be a money-spinner for the railways. The bookings for the train's October 20 journey — on the eve of Diwali which falls on October 23 — opened on Monday, and by afternoon, the prices of tickets had reached levels unheard of in the railways previously.
Tickets sell for more than 2 times the base price
A 2AC ticket, with a base fare of Rs3,880, was selling at a whopping Rs10,260 while a 3AC ticket, with a base fare of Rs2,915, was selling at Rs6,600. So robust are these openings, said railway officials, that the upper limit for ticket prices on the train may be reached within the next few days. As per railway rules, the maximum prices for market-controlled premium trains is three times the base fare. This would mean that the maximum that the 2AC ticket could up to is Rs11,640 while for the 3AC it would be Rs8,745.
Vaishno Devi travellers are well-off
The sleeper class tickets were still selling at Rs1,290 — at base fare itself — with railway officials saying that their assessment of the Vaishno Devi traveller being financially well-off coming true. "The fact that 41 per cent of 2AC tickets and 32 per cent of 3AC tickets have been already sold by Monday evening means exactly this. That people on this route are ones who want comfort and will end up paying a premium for it. The occupancy for the sleeper class tickets is at 17.7 per cent which means preference is for the AC classes," said a senior Western Railway official.
Rajdhani ticket price showing similar trajectory
The Mumbai-Delhi Rajdhani for October 19 is also showing a similar trajectory with officials believing that the train would also hit the upper limits for both 2AC and 3AC classes soon. On Monday, 2AC tickets were selling at Rs7,715 against a base fare of Rs3,225. The 3AC tickets were selling at Rs6,485, the base fare for the class being Rs2,390.
Success of route was never in doubt
Railway officials said that the success of this route was never in doubt. "Even with the premium rates for the train, we believe that the passenger will be saving money as far as the whole trip is concerned because he does not have to change trains at either Delhi or Jammu. Even the costly road journey from Jammu to Reasi district (of which Katra is a part) is avoided. The premium service brings about transparency and nullifies the tout. It also gives the passenger the facility of planning his journey as little as 15 days earlier," said Sharat Chandrayan, chief spokesperson, WR.
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
)
)
)
)
)
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}
){kind=small}