The railways has seen a 17-fold increase in the sale of yearly and half-yearly first-class and second-class season passes at ticket counters, as commuters wanted to utilise their Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 notes.
The biggest jump was seen in the sale of first-class yearly seasonal tickets (YST) on Western Railway (WR), which was a whopping 62 times more than average. Officials said WR sees the sale of around five first-class YSTs in a day, and the numbers recorded on Wednesday left everyone baffled.
A senior ticketing official on the condition of anonymity said, “Our clerks had to stay back for half an hour in the evening since so many people had come to get their passes renewed or make completely new ones. Many of them opted for YSTs because they wanted to get rid of their Rs 500 and Rs 1,000 currency notes.”
Central Railway (CR) too saw high YST sales, but in the second-class category.
Usually eight YSTs on an average are sold each day on CR, but on Wednesday the number stood at 200. A CR official said, “On CR, you usually see more sales of monthly second-class passes but commuters turned up at the counters on Tuesday evening and lined up for three or more hours to get rid of their Rs 500 or Rs 1,000 currency notes.”
Also, first-class half-yearly season tickets (HSTs) and second-class YSTs sold like hot cakes on WR and CR respectively, with both recording sales that were 12 times higher than average.
The WR usually sells an average of 19 first-class HSTs and CR sells six second-class YSTs in a day, but 241 first-class HSTs were issued on Wednesday and 82 second-class YST were sold at their counters on a total of 36 of its stations.
A booking clerk at Churchgate said, “By Wednesday morning, people came to buy second-class HSTs and YSTs, but when we told them that we didn’t have the change, many opted for first-class HSTs and so they ended paying a little more than the double of what they came to pay.”
