The November 7 trip, ahead of Diwali, has already seen 79.87% tickets, with 829 of the 1,038 seats, sold.
The ticket sales of the first Suvidha train service between Bandra Terminus and Gorakhpur started in a "sane" manner as opposed to the madness that was seen last May when the Suvidha trains' earlier avatar — the premium fare system — was in place. The build-up to Diwali on the new Suvidha train, a weekly, was evident, with almost 80% tickets for the November 7 trip already sold.
On Friday, statistics provided to dna by the Western Railway showed that for the first trip on October 17, some 15.41% of the total 1,038 seats on the train had been booked. For the October 24 trip, around 5.49% tickets — 57 out of 1,038 seats — had been booked. For its October 31 trip, the sales stand at 73 seats, around 7.03% of the total.
The November 7 trip, ahead of Diwali, has already seen 79.87% tickets, with 829 of the 1,038 seats, sold.
As reported by dna earlier, the railways scrapped its premium train policy this July and replaced it with the Suvidha system. The fare system of the Suvidha train follows the 'bucket' format. It means that the entire ticketing is broken up in five parts, or buckets, with a proportionate increase for every bucket. The base fare of the train is fixed at the tatkal fare of the topmost train on the same route. The first 20% of tickets will be sold at this price. The next 20% will be at 1.5 times this base fare. The third bucket of 20% will be at twice the base fare, the fourth 2.5 times, and the last three times the base fare.
The Suvidha system has provision for refunds and RAC tickets.
Last May, when the bookings for the premium CST-Gorakhpur train had opened, some of the 3AC tickets had sold at a whopping Rs5,867. The premium train's sleeper class had sold for Rs2,030, more than double the normal sleeper rate of Rs980.
"That was completely out of place and a clear sign of the railways abusing its monopoly and taking advantage of the shortage of seats on trains in a country where travel, thanks to migration, is heavy during festivals and school holidays," said an official.
Ticket sales of the 02534 Bandra Terminus-Gorakhpur Suvidha special as on Friday
Date Total seats Booked (3AC, 2AC, SL) Percentage
Oct 17 1,038 160 (0, 18, 142) 15.41
Oct 24 1,038 57 (8, 10, 39) 5.49
Oct 31 1,038 73 (2, 10, 61) 7.03
Nov 7 1,038 829 (29, 103, 697) 79.87
){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}
){kind=small}