| Railways packed, Airfare increased for summers in Jammu | | | Early Times Report
Jammu, June 9: The Tourist and pilgrimage season started with rise in Airfare upto 50 percent, whereas all trains from or for Jammu are packed for next two months.
Pilgrims and tourists planning to visit Vaishno Devi and other tourist places of the City during in summer vacations are disappointed with the means of transport as all the trains from and for Jammu are full for the next two months and the Air fares are about 50 Per Cent higher than the average rates.
Despite of having daily traffic of about 30 trains to and fro at Jammu Tawi Railway Station, pilgrims fail to get a confirmed ticket these days.Priya Mehta, a Vaishno Devi Pilgrim from Jaipur said, "We didn't get the train ticket for Jammu even in Tatkal Quata, so we decided to come by air, but Airfare have also been increased. The waiting list from Delhi to Jammu is more than 100."
R. N. Meena, Divisional Traffic Manager, Northern Railways said, " All trains from and for Jammu Tawi are fully packed,"
"To control the heavy rush and accommodate all the passengers and pilgrims, we have started eight special trains," he added. However, many of the passengers are still not getting a confirm ticket.
Meanwhile, taking advantage of the heavy rush during vacations, All the Airlines have increased Airfare for Jammu. The average rate of the airfare for Jammu-Srinagar was around Rs. 4000 but for the month of June and July the fare in not less than Rs. 7800 in any flight. As far as the flights from Delhi to Srinagar are concerned, the cheapest flight from Delhi to Srinagar is around Rs. 9900, which more than double.
"I usually get ticket for Srinagar within Rs.4500, but I was shocked when I checked the rates for June 8, there was no ticket below Rs. 8600," said Mohit Gupta, a business man from Srinagar. Kapil Mahajan, a ticket agent said, "We always face the problem of availability and fare rise in this season, but this time the rates have been increased by more than 50 percent."
"We always suggest our regular customers to book their ticket a month before travelling in summer vacations to get availability in trains and better fares in flights," he added. The Airline officials say that this is the trend of the Airlines, whenever the demand raises the fare increases accordingly; It is completely on the first come first serve basis. |
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