Railways make ID cards must for passengers from today
Railways to deem passengers failing to produce ID cards as travelling without tickets
New Delhi: Rail passengers travelling sleeper-class from Saturday need to carry identity proof as the Railways has firmed up steps to prevent the misuse of tickets by touts and facilitate hassle-free travel.
From Saturday, passengers failing to produce original identity proof in sleeper class, as and when asked for, will be treated as “without ticket" and charged accordingly, said a senior railway ministry official.
The rule will apply to all forms of tickets, including those for sleeper class issued by Railways through computerized passenger reservation system (PRS) or the Internet.
The decision to introduce the photo ID cards system for sleeper class passengers is likely to deter touts from booking tickets under fictitious names and selling them to passengers at a premium, the official said.
In February, Railways had made it mandatory for AC-class passengers to carry identity proof with them. Passengers travelling on a Tatkal or an e-ticket are also required to carry ID cards.
“Earlier, it was mandatory for AC-class passengers to carry ID cards. Now, we have decided to make sleeper-class passengers also to carry ID cards. This has been done to facilitate genuine passengers to avail confirmed tickets," said the official.
He said the non-AC travellers were kept out of the photo ID card decision at that time, adding, “The policy ambit is being widened now so that every passenger in reserved class onboard a train has a valid identity card."
Passengers can carry any of these ten ID proofs—voter ID card, passport, PAN card, driving licence, photo identity card having a serial number issued by the central/state government, student identity card with photograph issued by recognized school/college, Aadhaar card, nationalized bank passbook with photograph and credit cards issued by banks with laminated photograph. PTI
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