Suvidha trains to offer confirmed seats during peak seasons

NEW DELHI: In an effort to cater to extra rush during festivals, peak summer and winter seasons, railways have decided to run 'Suvidha' trains in which passengers will get confirmed berth or seat. No waitlisted ticket will be issued. The first Suvidha train will be from Gorakhpur to Anand Vihar.

The transporter has decided to discontinue 'Premium' trains introduced last year, and replace it with Suvidha train, after changing a few rules that were causing inconvenience to passengers. The traveler can buy tickets for Suvidha trains from the reservation counters or book them online from IRCTC website.

The reservation period will be a maximum of 30 days and a minimum of 10 days. Bookings in Premium trains were allowed only online and the reservation period was only 15 days. There was criticism that not all passengers had access to internet or online booking facility.

"The service aims at catering to premium passengers and those who want to travel at short-notice by offering assured berth and better service," said an official, adding that the transporter will also earn additional revenue.

The anomaly in fares of Premium trains was also a major issue. Premium trains offered dynamic fares and it was found that in these trains higher demand pushed AC3 fares higher than AC2 class.

In Suvidha trains minimum fare will be Tatkal fare for the class of travel and fares would increase after booking of every 20% of seats/berths subject to maximum three times of Tatkal fare. If any berth remains unsold during preparation of the journey chart, they could be sold through current booking counters for the last sold price. Other applicable supplementary charges like reservation charge, superfast charge, service tax etc. will be charged separately. No concession, no free or complimentary pass will be applicable and also for children full adult fare shall be charged.

The transporter will run three types of Suvidha trains—full AC trains without stops charging Rajdhani base fare and Tatkal charges, mixed service with no stops charging Duronto base fare and Tatkal charges and mixed service with some stops charging base fare of mail and express trains, and Tatkal charges.

The passenger has to produce one of the prescribed identity cards during journey for verification. The onboard facilities on Suvidha trains would be similar to Premium trains. Along with ensuring punctuality, railways want to ensure top quality linen, better food and cleanliness on Suvidha trains.

In normal circumstances Suvidha train will not be cancelled. However, in case of cancellation in exceptional circumstances, full refund of fare shall be granted for counter PRS ticket across the counter and for e-tickets full refunds of fare shall be directly credited to the customers account. For any other reason, if berth cannot be given to passenger by railways, full refund shall be granted to the passenger manually.