Congress leader and MP from Kerala Shashi Tharoor blamed the Center for focusing too much on the Vande Bharat Express, while rail passengers are not getting confirmed berths. In a series of tweets, Tharoor said that a confirmed railway berth should no longer be just about luck but a common feature, and also called it worrying given the focus on Vande Bharat. The senior Congress leader and former UN diplomat cited media reports, citing an RTI reply, that said over 2.7 crore passengers could not travel by train in 2022-23 despite buying tickets Because there was a waiting list.
Tharoor wrote on Twitter, “When will the long waiting list in Indian Railways end? 2.7 crore waitlisted passengers did not get a confirmed seat. This trend has been going on, every year breaking the previous year’s record,” said the Thiruvananthapuram MP.
“It’s been trending, breaking the previous record every year. The introduction of #VandeBharat is welcome, but the focus on it is worrying. In our 75th year of independence, a confirmed railway berth is no longer just about luck Rather there should be one. General convenience. The matter should immediately attract the attention of the government,” he said.
In a recent reply to an RTI petition filed by Madhya Pradesh activist Chandra Shekhar Gaur, the Railway Board revealed that in 2022-2023, 1.76 crore Passenger Name Record (PNR) numbers were logged, against which 2.72 crore passengers were scheduled Were. The trip was automatically canceled due to waiting list.
In 2021-2022, a total of 1.06 crore PNR numbers were logged, out of which 1.65 crore passengers who were to travel were automatically cancelled. In case of cancellation of PNR, the ticket fare is refunded to the passengers. Inability to provide confirmed tickets to passengers is a recurring problem with the national transporter, reports PTI.
On the other hand, Indian Railways has introduced several Vande Bharat Express trains across India, including the newly-inaugurated Guwahati-New Jalpaiguri Vande Bharat Express, which was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi as the first Vande Bharat train of the Northeast. The flag was shown.