The Railways will stop pasting reservation charts on all trains at A1, A and B category stations from March 1, the ministry announced on Friday. This will be done as part of a pilot project for six months, railways said.
However, the physical and digital copies of the reservation charts will be on display at platforms, the ministry informed. “Earlier, pasting of reservation charts on the reserved coaches of all trains was discontinued at New Delhi, Hazrat Nizamuddin, Mumbai Central, Chennai Central, Howrah and Sealdah stations of Indian Railways on experimental basis for a period of 3 months,” it said in a statement.
The Railways first carried out this experiment in the Bengaluru Division of the South Western Railway in November 2016, The Hindu reported. It helped save paper worth Rs 21 lakh a year. Though saving money was not the guiding factor, the Railway Board’s Additional Member (Commercial) Rajiv Dutt Sharma told the newspaper that the initiative would help the Railways save Rs 7 crore annually.
The Railways classifies its stations across 17 zones into seven categories – A1, A, B, C, D, E and F – based on the ticket sales.
Limited-time offer: Big stories, small price. Keep independent media alive. Become a Scroll member today!
Our journalism is for everyone. But you can get special privileges by buying an annual Scroll Membership. Sign up today!