Andhra Pradesh - Vijayawada   

Fleecing Railway passengers?

G.V. Ramana Rao

VIJAYAWADA: The distance from point A to point B is equal to the distance between point B and point A. This is not a complex mathematical equation and even a primary schoolchild can understand it. Similarly, the distance from Vijayawada to Visakhapatnam has to be the same as the distance from Visakhapatnam to Vijayawada. Interestingly, the Indian Railways functions beyond such truisms and passengers are being penalised for it.

According to the data used for calculating the train fare, the distance from the Hyderabad station to the Visakhapatnam station is 710 km. But, quite surprisingly, the distance from Visakhapatnam station to Hyderabad station, along the same track, is 711 km. This additional kilometre is not taken seriously even by passengers who book tickets for the return journey. Whether they take it seriously or not, passengers going from Visakhapatnam to Hyderabad have to pay more fare because of the additional kilometre. A passenger who travels by second class has to pay an additional fare of Rs. 2 and a first A.C. passenger has to pay an additional fare of Rs. 22. In a year, this extra kilometre is putting an additional burden of Rs. 78 lakhs per train on the passengers. And there are more than a dozen trains plying between Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam-Hyderabad every day. The burden then aggregates to over Rs. 10 crores a year. This is just for trains run in this route. Half of this "additional burden" falls on the sleeper class passengers, as their number is large. The passengers travelling between these two stations are not the only victims of this anomaly.

The distance from Vijayawada to Visakhapatnam is 350 km. But, passengers have to pay for the extra kilometre in the return direction. A second class passenger pays an additional fare of Rs 2 and a first A.C. passenger pays an additional Rs. 27 to travel the extra kilometre. The anomaly of distance exists between several other stations in the Hyderabad-Visakhapatnam section.

Slab system

The following are the distances used by the Indian Railways for calculating the fares to and fro the various destinations -- Hyderabad to Rajahmundry: 509 km and in the opposite direction, it is 510 km; Visakhapatnam to Rajahmundry: 201 km and in the return direction, it is 200 km.

The burden on railway passengers is disproportionately high, though the difference is only one kilometre because the Indian Railways does not fix the fare on the basis of kilometres like the APSRTC. The rate is increased based on the slab system.

Printer friendly page  
Send this article to Friends by E-Mail

Stories in this Section

Fleecing Railway passengers?
VMC's waste management system lauded
Medical counselling disrupted again
Subsidy for farmers under farm mechanisation scheme
Marriage bureau gets ISO quality certification
Oil tanker driver dies in accident
NSSO survey being conducted
Maize stocks for farmers
Around the City
In Vijayawada Today

Copyright © 2005, The Hindu. Republication or redissemination of the contents of this screen are expressly prohibited without the written consent of The Hindu