Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee on Sunday openly criticised the policies adopted by her predecessor, besides branding some of the packages introduced by the Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation as unaffordable.
At the flag-off ceremony of the Howrah-Digha Kandari Express, a daily train between Kolkata and the sea resort of Digha that she had promised on the day she took charge of her new office, Banerjee said without naming RJD chief and former railway minister Lalu Prasad, that the 'tatkal' or instant ticket reservation system needs to be overhauled.
"Railways have a commercial compulsion to earn, but it has a social obligation to maintain a human face," she said.
Prasad, in his tenure, had more than doubled the number of tatkal seats, and thereby had taken out the number of berths available under normal reservation. The additional tatkal seats that are thrown open for reservation at the last moment came at a premium of Rs 75-300 and earned more revenue for the Indian Railways. Some, however, allege that this reduced the chances for passengers to buy cheaper tickets in advance.
Banerjee also criticised the deteriorating quality of food served at the Rajdhani Express, one of Indian Railway's flagship trains.
According to sources, the IRCTC had recently submitted a proposal to the Railway Board to introduce a system that would enable passengers to place their meal orders before boarding long-distance trains, besides focusing on standardising the quality of food across trains.
The new menu has Bengali items on offer, a 'Mamata effect.' She even promised to introduce a catering service on the three-and-a-half-hour journey between Kolkata and Digha offering Bengali delicacies.
Banerjee openly expressed her displeasure at the kind of rates charged by the IRCTC on short-tour packages. "These rates have been introduced without my consent. These are not within the reach of the common man," she said, adding that the rates would be soon revised.
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