Another Railways bungle
I had bought a railway ticket to travel on 26 Monday by Intercity Train No. 30 from Kandy to Colombo Fort. The ticket indicated Coach EX, seat No. 09. When the train arrived at Peradeniya Junction, I got into the Ex compartment. Although the coach was labeled Ex outside, the seats were not numbered, and all the seats were occupied. I had no place to sit. There were many others too who had tickets bearing seat numbers but there were no seats to sit.
There were two additional compartments (Class) G and Ex but without seat numbers. We drew the attention of the ticket checking officers, but they could not be of any help.
All of us are regular travellers and employed in the private sector. We buy our tickets a week ahead to make sure that we have seats to travel. As you know, to travel standing for 2 1/2 hours and then to perform 9 hours duty is not easy.
The C.G.R. is an essential public service. It has a century of experience. The public has a right to get a better service. I hope that the authorities concerned would do the needful.
By M.I.I. Deen
Source: Daily Mirror
Tags: authorities, colombo, intercity express, kandy, railway ticket, seat numbers, travellers
