Trained ticketless travellers are bogeymen for irate passeng

They enter in groups and force people who have reserved tickets to make place for them. Any one who resists is dealt with the choicest of abuses.Thus no one ever intervenes, not even the authorities.

This reporter was witness to such a display of force on the Gomti Express which runs fromLucknow to Delhi via Kanpur, Tundla and Aligarh on April 7.Groups of men entered the second class reserved compartment from Tundla and Aligarh. Though there was no space for them, they forced the others to get up and make space.

Even the women were not spared. A lady was who resisted was immediately given a befitting reply: “Move. Don’t ask us to show our tickets. We never buy tickets. We travel everyday. The TT knows us. No more questions.” The lady shifted and her husband thought it wiser to keep quiet.

These traders carry huge boxes with them which pose furthur difficulties for authorised passengers. On this particular train, no TT came by to check tickets. According to a man who frequently travels by the Magadh Express, “Even when the TT’s see these rogues, they don’t say a word. There seems to be some kind of an understanding between them.”

When The Indian Express contacted the railway authorities, they claimed to be aware of the problem but expressed their helplessness about the matter. “Weknow the traders come to Delhi everyday and go back in the evening to their homes. Many of them do not buy tickets. But what can we do? We do not have enough staff to check every train 365 days a year,” said Northern Railways PRO Shrikant Mahiyaria.

So, it seems regular passengers with tickets would just have to bear with them till the Northern Railways hire enough staff. Until then, trains like Purushottam, Magadh and Gomti Express will remain crowded. Even the reserved sleeper compartments are not spared.

The only people who might escape the onslaught are those travelling in the air-conditioned coaches.