“Pakistan Railway forms the lifeline of the country.” This is at least what the PR really claims to be according to its official website. No doubt, as far as the rail network is concerned it was very well designed by our British masters many decades ago.
Now after the years of neglect, new trains have been launched, railway stations have been given a much needed facelift, and above all e-ticketing system has been introduced, as the officials say, to cope up with the fast changing business demands. However, the picture is not all that bright, as a friend says problems start right from there as you call the well publicized railway inquiry number to obtain simple information about trains. His ordeal goes like this.
He was at his office one evening when his mother asked him to get her seat reserved in one of the trains for Khanelwal, a district in Punjab. Having no access to internet, he could not use the e-ticketing option. For information about train timings and fares, he kept dialing the number just to hold the receiver and hear the continuous monotonous bells. He left for the City Station to get the inquiry and reservation done. To his utter surprise, it wore a deserted rather scary look at night with all its lights off and windows of all counters closed. A man in civvies approached him to say that everything there gets closed at night and he better visit the station the next morning for an inquiry.
Feeling disgusted, he moved to inquire about the timings from the Cantonment Station on the gate of which he was charged ten rupees as the parking fee. Although that station looked better with all its lights on, he could not find a single staffer on duty to ask about the fares and timings except the platform’s ticket checker who did not know the exact fares. He found two policemen with cigarettes in their hands, puffing smoke in the air. When the friend asked them about a responsible officer of the railway to get the basic information, he was told to visit the assistant station master (ASM). With his tolerance level exceeding all limits, he took
brisk steps towards the office of ASM as he thought to complain about all the sufferings he had been undergoing that night. In no time, however, he found out that it was not all that easy as there was no officer on duty. He waited for him outside the office for 20 minutes until he decided to return home with a heavy heart.
Just at that moment, he saw a police constable writing something in a register in the office of railway police. The friend knocked at the door and he was permitted to come in. The constable, in close to his retiring age, asked with a smiling face how he could help him. After getting all the required information about the train timings and fares and thanking the policeman, my friend with this dreadful experience decided never to buy a railway ticket what to talk of a journey by train in future.—HA
Now after the years of neglect, new trains have been launched, railway stations have been given a much needed facelift, and above all e-ticketing system has been introduced, as the officials say, to cope up with the fast changing business demands. However, the picture is not all that bright, as a friend says problems start right from there as you call the well publicized railway inquiry number to obtain simple information about trains. His ordeal goes like this.
He was at his office one evening when his mother asked him to get her seat reserved in one of the trains for Khanelwal, a district in Punjab. Having no access to internet, he could not use the e-ticketing option. For information about train timings and fares, he kept dialing the number just to hold the receiver and hear the continuous monotonous bells. He left for the City Station to get the inquiry and reservation done. To his utter surprise, it wore a deserted rather scary look at night with all its lights off and windows of all counters closed. A man in civvies approached him to say that everything there gets closed at night and he better visit the station the next morning for an inquiry.
Feeling disgusted, he moved to inquire about the timings from the Cantonment Station on the gate of which he was charged ten rupees as the parking fee. Although that station looked better with all its lights on, he could not find a single staffer on duty to ask about the fares and timings except the platform’s ticket checker who did not know the exact fares. He found two policemen with cigarettes in their hands, puffing smoke in the air. When the friend asked them about a responsible officer of the railway to get the basic information, he was told to visit the assistant station master (ASM). With his tolerance level exceeding all limits, he took
brisk steps towards the office of ASM as he thought to complain about all the sufferings he had been undergoing that night. In no time, however, he found out that it was not all that easy as there was no officer on duty. He waited for him outside the office for 20 minutes until he decided to return home with a heavy heart.Just at that moment, he saw a police constable writing something in a register in the office of railway police. The friend knocked at the door and he was permitted to come in. The constable, in close to his retiring age, asked with a smiling face how he could help him. After getting all the required information about the train timings and fares and thanking the policeman, my friend with this dreadful experience decided never to buy a railway ticket what to talk of a journey by train in future.—HA
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1 comment:
Nice article
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