Railway commuters protest against coupon queue rule

Commuters at Dombivli  railway station protested against the new rule to form a queue to buy coupons which started on Sunday.

They barged into the station master’s office and filed a complaint.
The Central Railway had issued a directive that from April 1, CVM coupon booklets will be sold to passengers in queues only and the facility of purchasing CVM coupons booklets without queues would be cancelled at all stations of the Mumbai Division on Central Railway.

“There was a problem at all stations on Sunday, but Dombivli saw a stronger protest. We are going to write a complaint letter to the general manager of the railways to change the rule,’’ said Madhu Kotian of Mumbai Railway Pravasi Sangh.

Commuters said the queue to buy tickets was too long and when they went to buy coupons, they were asked by the booking clerks to form a separate queue. This led to a protest as buying a coupon booklet was an easy way to avoid the queue.

Before the rule was implemented, one could buy a coupon booklet directly from the booking counters. The practice was in place at all the booking counters in the suburban stations of the Mumbai Division on Central Railway, and was implemented at around the same time as when CVM coupons were introduced.

However, the practice had now become one of the primary reasons for rising instances of conflict between the booking staff and passengers wanting to buy CVM coupon booklets, which had led to a flood of complaints in recent months.