On the same portal season ticket for second class is available whose fares have not changed post GST
Mumbai suburban commuters trying to book their first class season ticket online through the IRCTC portal have not only been hassled but are also in for a rude shock as online purchase of first class season ticket has been disabled, since July 1 the day after GST came into force.
On the same portal season ticket for second class is available whose fares have not changed post GST. "My season ticket was expiring on July 7 so I decided to book my season pass online two days prior but I saw that there was no option for first class season ticket being shown on the IRCTC portal, thinking it was a technical issue I waited for another day but the result was the same and I had to stand in a long queue at Borivali station to buy a new season ticket," said Nikhil Mistry a Borivali resident who commutes to Churchgate daily.
Vinita Bhatia, media person and a Kandivali resident said that though she had booked her season ticket on July 28 using the same portal it was on Monday, while trying to help a colleague book a season ticket that she found the issue. "IRCTC has mobile phone numbers of people who book tickets using this app and could have sent messages informing that the services were unavailable and it speaks volumes for the claims of making India digital. It's strange that the services have been down for 10 days now and all those who use this online way of buying season ticket will end up standing in the queue," she said.
Meanwhile sources in Railways claimed that the issue was related to changes in the fare structure that was brought about post GST.
"Service tax levied on first class ticket as well as season ticket has gone up from 4.5 per cent to 5 per cent and it seems that the glitch could be because of the new fares being set up. Though the number of commuters using the online mode for booking season ticket is very low compared to those buying season tickets directly from the ticket windows IRCTC and CRIS should resolve the issue on priority as it's a bad advertisement," said a rail official.
A senior official from IRCTC said that they are working on resolving the issue. "It's a technical glitch and we are trying to ensure that its resolved as quickly as possible," he said.
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