Lok Sabha Question No. 480 (STARRED), answered on 2018-03-28
Subject: Transfer of Confirmed Ticket
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH, BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO.480 TO BE ANSWERED ON 28.03.2018

## TRANSFER OF CONFIRMED TICKET

- *480.    SHRI KUNWAR HARIBANSH SINGH: SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a)  whether  the  Railways  has  decided  to  allow  passengers  to transfer  their  confirmed  ticket  to  another  person  in  case  they  are unable to travel;
- (b)  if so, the details thereof including the guidelines framed for this purpose and the time by which it is likely to come into force;
- (c)  whether the Government has also decided to extend this facility to the National Cadet Corps and if so, the details thereof;
- (d)  whether the said move will adversely affect the waitlisted train passengers and if so, the details thereof along with the corrective measures taken by the Government in this regard; and
- (e)  the other steps taken/being taken by the Government to cover more  waitlisted  rail  passengers  and  avoid  black  marketing  of  rail tickets?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COAL

(SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a) to (e):    A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  TO  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (e)  OF STARRED  QUESTION  NO.480  BY  SHRI  KUNWAR  HARIBANSH  SINGH AND SHRI BIDYUT BARAN MAHATO TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 28.03.2018 REGARDING TRANSFER OF CONFIRMED TICKET

(a) & (b): Section  53  of  Railway  Act  1989  provides  that  a  ticket issued  in  the  name  of  a  person  shall  be  used  only  by  that  person except  in  case  of  mutual  transfer  of  a  seat  or  berth  by  Passengers travelling  by  the  same  train  or  if  allowed  by  an  authorised  railway servant  who  may  permit  change  of  name  of  a  passenger  having reserved  a  seat  or  berth  subject  to  such  circumstances  as  may  be prescribed.

Passengers  (Change  of  Names)  Rules,  1990  were  issued  vide GSR  708(E)  dated  16 th   August  1990  specifying  the  conditions  under which  a  reserved  ticket  can  be  transferred  to  another  person.  An amendment  to  these  rules  was  issued  vide  GSR  704  (E)  dated 12.12.1997 wherein this facility was extended to National Cadet Corps (NCC) cadets.

The facility of change of name is permitted to following category of  passengers  subject  to  fulfilment  of  conditions  mentioned  in  the Rules mentioned above:-

- (i) Government servant proceeding on duty
- (ii)
- Family member
- (iii) Students of a recognized government institution
- (iv) Cadet of National Cadet Corps (NCC)
- (v) Marriage party

(c): As  mentioned  above,  this  facility  is  already  available  to  NCC cadets.

(d) & (e): This facility has been provided to meet the situation where a passenger holding confirmed ticket is not in a position to undertake the  journey  and  someone  else  has  to  be  sent  in  his/her  place. Instructions have been issued to all Zonal Railways to take adequate safeguards  to  avoid  misuse  of  this  scheme,  some  of  which  are  as under:-

- (i) Granting  of  permission  for  change  of  name  only  by  a  Gazetted officer subject to production of requisite documents to prove the genuineness and fulfilment of conditions mentioned in the Rules. At those locations where Gazetted officer is not available, nongazetted officer authorised in this behalf has to take post facto approval from the competent authority.
- (ii) Maintenance of proper record of such permissions.
- (iii)
- Inspection of these records by the officers.
- (iv)
- Not allowing this facility in the tickets issued on concession.

With  a  view  to  meet  the  demand  of  waitlisted  passengers, waiting list position of the trains is monitored and to cater to the rising demand of passengers, to the extent feasible,  various  measures  are taken  which  include  introduction  of  new  trains,  enhancement  of  the composition  of  more  popular  trains,  attachment  of  extra  coaches  in the  existing  trains,  running  of  special  trains  for  clearance  of  extra passengers traffic during peak seasons, festivals, special events etc. keeping  in view  the pattern of traffic, commercial  justification, operation feasibility, availability of resources etc.

Various steps are taken by the Railways to avoid misuse of its passenger reservation system, some of which are as under:-

- i. Restriction  on  agents  on  booking  of  tickets  during  first  thirty minutes of opening of Advance Reservation Period (ARP) booking and Tatkal booking.
- ii. Condition of carrying one of the prescribed proofs of identity in original during journey by any one of the passengers booked on the ticket.
- iii. Automatic  preparation  of  reservation  charts  at  least  4  hours before  scheduled  departure  of  train  and  thereafter  booking  of available  accommodation  through  internet  as  well  as  through computerized Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counters.
- iv. Making provision in the PRS system to transfer vacant available accommodation after preparation of second reservation chart to next remote location.
- v. Introduction  of  Alternate  Train  Accommodation  Scheme  (ATAS) known  as  VIKALP  for  providing  confirmed  accommodation  to waitlisted  passengers  and  also  to  ensure  optimal  utilization  of available accommodation.
- vi. Modification  of  Railway  Passengers  (Cancellation  of  Ticket  and Refund  of  Fare)  Rules  to  discourage  speculative  booking  of tickets.
7. vii.
8. Provision of CCTVs at important PRS locations.
- viii. Only  one  booking  in  one  user  login  session  except  for  return/ onward journey between 0800 and 1200 hours in case of tickets being booked through internet.
- ix. Provision of CAPTCHA in the booking page of e-ticket/i-ticket on the IRCTC website to check use of scripting tools by unscrupulous elements for cornering of tickets.
- x. Introduction  of  a  time  check  of  35  seconds  for  completion  of online booking of tickets to avoid misuse through use of scripting software.
- xi. Making  One  Time  Password  (OTP)  mandatory  for  payment  of tickets booked online.
- xii. Conducting joint as well as independent checks by Commercial, Vigilance & Security Departments to curb the activities of touts.
14. xiii.
15. Touts so apprehended taken up as per provisions of Law.
- xiv. Intensification  of  checks  during  peak  rush  and  festival  periods. Touts and unauthorized vendors apprehended and prosecuted as per relevant provisions of the Railways Act, 1989.
- xv. Supplementing  checks  conducted  at  Reservation  Offices  by checks on the trains to detect the cases of transferred reserved tickets i.e. persons found travelling fraudulently against accommodation actually reserved in the  name of another passenger.
- xvi. Conducting checks in booking offices, reservation offices, trains etc.  to  curb  malpractices  by  Railway  staff  in  connivance  with touts.  Stringent  action  taken  against  the  railway  staff  under Disciplinary and Appeal Rules, if found indulging in malpractices.
- xvii. Deployment  of  RPF  staff  at  important  Passenger  Reservation System (PRS) centres to prevent touting activities.
- xviii. Keeping  surveillance  on  the  possible  activities  of  touts  and unauthorised vendors through Close Circuit Television Cameras installed at important Railway Stations.
- xix. Educating  general  public  through  Public  Address  System  and media, not to buy tickets from touts/unscrupulous elements and consequences of buying tickets from these sources.

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