Railways to cancel e-tickets booked by agents between 8am to 12 noon

LUCKNOW: Railways has asked passengers not to buy e-tickets from agents between 8am and 12 noon as the agents are not allowed to book tickets through Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation ( IRCTC) website between this duration every day.

The time slot is reserved for ordinary passengers. Passengers found travelling on general or ' tatkal' tickets booked by agents during this time slot will face problems as railways will cancel such tickets and also take action against them under the Railway Act.

Railways has also advised passengers to be cautious against agents who might overcharge. The details of authorised agents have been uploaded on IRCTC website and passengers should book the tickets through these agents only. Passengers should ensure that the reservation requisition slip has their correct mobile number so that details regarding fare and service charge delivered on their mobile phone through SMS and any instance of overcharging of fare could thus be scuttled.

Passengers should also collect the booking/cancellation receipt from the agents. The cancellation will be done by the same agent without charging any extra amount from the passenger. The service charge for booking a ticket for AC I, II and III through an agent is Rs 40 and that of sleeper class is Rs 20. In the rush season, there are many cases where passengers are taken for a ride by agents.