The Indian Railway Catering And Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), responsible for internet ticketing of railways is looking to officially close distribution of its tickets through the travel agent network.
IRCTC through communication to all of its B2B PSPs (principle service providers) has stated that there will be no annual renewals of their contracts. There are more than 100 PSPs who have been authorized by IRCTC to book tickets. These PSPs have a network of 300,000 sub-agents also referred to as retail service providers (RSPs). The communication also stated that PSPs won’t be able to create new RSPs too.
“This is a very negative move especially at the time when the industry is reeling under extreme pressure due to Covid-19 pandemic. Many markets like Europe offer train tickets as a resource that travel agents can sell. The government should support us,” said Jyoti Mayal, President, Travel Agents Association of India (TAAI).
Internet and Mobile Association of India (IAMAI) has also expressed its disappointment on the proposed move stating it apart from loss in employment and investment of companies will also impact bookings made on IRCTC. “There are people in India who need assistance for booking tickets”, the association highlighted in a response to the Ministry of Railways.
As per an official of IRCTC who is not authorized to speak to media, a large number of agents were found booking train tickets meant for ‘tatkal’ through fake e-mail ids and mobile numbers using illegal software. Travel agents can’t book tatkal tickets in the first 15 minutes when the window for the bookings open. However, the illegal software available in the market helps them to overcome such restrictions. It has promoted the Indian Railways to relinquish its PSPs.