THE SUPREMACY OF TTEs/TCs of Railways And The Big Drain On Your Resources

The supremacy of TTEs/TCs and the big drain on your resources

This was the most unexpected event in my life. Having taken a tatkal ticket, which read 6 waiting, i was confident that when the final list comes, the waiting would be confirmed. Against this hope lay the ulterior motives of the guys who prepare the chart, favouring their near and dear ones. I was left with a waiting 3 on my tatkal ticket and yet floating with the hope that the TTE would offer me a seat as adjustments for one person could be made with a status of w/l 3 (waiting list 3). The TTE for Kanniyakumari Express 16381 on May 22, 2011, AC 2 coach (from CST, Mumbai to Kanniyakumari) appeared on the scene when barely three minutes were left for the train to leave. I told him about my tatkal status and requested him to get me a seat as i had some urgency to my assignment. He was unmoved and appeared to belong to a timid club where no amount of gentle persuasion works. From his appearance and those who have dealt with this man would agree that something else works for this Kanniyakumari Express AC 2 coach TTE.

When the train started moving, he was seated on seat number 13 and looking at the chart and repeatedly mocking at my persuasive efforts. I again approached him pleading my case for a seat as my tatkal ticket was just w/l 3(waiting list 3). He seemed to be in the company of three to four occupants and one could make out that most of them either had a general ticket or waiting to get down at Pune and were his buddies. My persuasion this time led his buddies to chip in and observe that i should not have boarded the train with the TTE equally aghast at my attempt to carry on with my journey when w/l is 3. Haven't passengers travelled in coaches when they have had wait listed tickets? One can understand that in Rajdhanis and Shatabdis, the boarding for wait listed passengers is not allowed but how can you stop someone from boarding and if someone has boarded ask him to deboard when waiting list is 3.

Some even expressed apprehensions that refund on my ticket would be nil and i should deboard. Seeing all my persuasive skills come to a naught, i decided to deboard at Dadar. What a haughty character this TTE was and how with ease he could have secured me a seat had he made some efforts. But mocking and despising my presence in the coach was his profound obsession. In that very coach there were at least a family that had few seats on waiting status and yet they decided to stick with the train. From where they got this streak of confidence is not known but i was not prepared to go that extra length of pleasing him if ever he wanted. Probably the ones he was in company of were those who were travelling with a general ticket.
This TTE on AC 2 coach of Kanniyakumari Express on May 22, 2011 has continued unhindered in his conduct and the railway officials have let such monsters grow. Such TTEs are a blot on the railway set-up and there are quite a handful of them. What makes such TTEs prosper is the requisite transaction that takes place between the passenger and such TTEs and this leads them to offer seats to those who may not be even having genuine ticket. THe flying squad/vigilance staff have faulted in not checking the growth of such TTEs. Herein the vigilance staff should conduct surprise checks on such TTEs and make necessary efforts to contain their designs. For commoners like us, it becomes mandatory to apprise others that such TTEs only prosper at the back of support of passengers indulging in requisite transaction with them but also the members from their fraternity. Where is the need to keep them in good humour when you have paid for the tatkal ticket and the waiting list is just 3. THeir(TTEs) fiefdom is large and expanding and be it 1 seat or 10 there are millions of passengers who would go by the rule book than oblige them.
When i deboarded the train at Dadar, it took me more than 45 minutes running from one end to another to know about my refund. Finally the enquiry counter got me a refund only after i had already gone to the floor where reservations are done (running here and there) and seeing no response on my query returned to the ground floor. The counter serves as enquiry-cum-reservation/refund counter and the maddening rush can leave anyone in a state of illness.
Just few days ago on Karnataka Express a family of 14 boarded the sleeper class coach from Agra. They all had waiting ticket and the co-passengers made necessary adjustments to offer them seats for a train ride that went beyond 30 hours . The TTE never told them to deboard and at one level one of the wait listed passengers even told the TTE on his face that he takes money to offer a seat. But after a small argument things cooled down. And here i was telling the co-passenger who had made the allegations that he should restrain himself as this TTE was quite understanding. And here there was one TTE of AC 2 coach of Kanniyakumari Express (from CST Mumbai to Kanniyakumari, May 22, 2011))who was not prepared to secure just one seat as his looks conveyed the picture of astonishment as someone had boarded against his will. The boarding that i did against his will, and the template of transactions that he indulges in, are the impressions that one carries of this century old railways where the overwhelming need is to settle this debate of TTEs overwhelming powers. His overwhelming powers led me to deboard and the resultant scenario was quite unimaginable. This deboarding led to a big drain on my hard earned resources and to a search for a lodge that was equally painful. Had TTE made efforts to get me a seat in AC 3 (quite possible given the floating passengers the train carries), i would have been spared from spending so much on another ticket and the painful exercise of looking for an accommodation where most lodgewallahs shut the doors on my face. THings have to improve as these lodgewallahs can't have a free run for long. Here again the crying need for moolah by lodgewallahs shows the strains in society. After all the society has a wide gulf between those who have unaccounted wealth and splurge on activities unknown to humanity and those with little resources but with supreme faith.
The night i spent in Mumbai and the nonsensical nature of the occupant of the adjacent room of a lodge having name of a city of South at least gave me the belief that i should never spend the night and should skip the city the moment the night sets in. The city has everything going for it except for the accommodation that one seeks. I am not saying nights are bad. The issue is who could well be the occupant of the next room having common iron bars in the middle. The city is great and only one thing to check out for is the lodge you take and make sure there are no trouble-makers. Hard to say but there would be lodges where sanity prevails and genuineness reigns.