(a) whether there is any proposal to grant permission to travel agents for the sale of rail tickets under several Railway Divisions, State-wise including Dhanbad Railway Division of Jharkhand;
(b) if so, whether any panel of such travel agents has been prepared;
(c) if so, the criteria laid down for the selection of such travel agents; and
(d) the reasons for not appointing travel agents in Daltenganj and Gadwa under the said Division?
MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF PARLIAMENTARY AFFAIRS AND MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI O.RAJAGOPAL)
(a) to (d): Rail Travellers` Service Agents (RTSAs) are
appointed to purchase tickets on behalf of passengers by
standing in queue like a normal passenger. They are not
authorized to sell tickets. Appointment of RTSAs is a
continuous process. For appointing RTSAs at a particular
location, norms have been laid down by Ministry of Railways
relating it to the reservation work load being handled at
that location. Based on these norms, RTSAs are appointed at
any location. The number of transactions dealt with at
Daltonganj and Gadwa does not justify appointment of RTSAs
at these locations at present.