While it was being said that following the Odisha three-train accident, that killed over 270 people, ticket cancellations have gone up, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) – that takes care of ticketing, catering, and tourism services for the Indian Railways – said that the numbers reveal a different picture.
On June 1, a day before the crash, at least 7.7 lakh cancellations took place, while a day after the mishap this number was 7.5 lakh.
Several people, including leaders of the Congress, claimed that thousands cancelled their tickets following the Odisha accident.
This is factually incorrect. Cancellations have not increased. On the contrary, cancellations have reduced from 7.7 Lakh on 01.06.23 to 7.5 Lakh on 03.06.23. https://t.co/tn85n03WPn— IRCTC (@IRCTCofficial) June 6, 2023
Speaking to News18, an official said people cancel trips due to a number of reasons and not because of the mishap.
“Daily more than 13,000 express trains are operating. This number is excluding the other trains that are operating. Further, annually around 800-900 crore passengers are travelling on the railways. So, the daily average travellers in railways are more than two crores,” he said.
The official further said that when compared to the daily footfall of over two crore, the cancellation of a few lakh is not a major issue.
“The mishap has no impact on the ticketing,” he added.
Around 7pm on Friday, June 2, the Coromandel Express, coming from Howrah, rammed into a goods train near Odisha’s Bahanaga Bazar station.
The impact was so strong that the coaches of the Bengaluru-Howrah Superfast Express also fell over after the bogies of the Coromandel Express hit them on the adjacent track.
At least 279 people have been reported dead so far and over 1,000 are injured.
The restoration of tracks has been completed and train movement on the route has also restarted.
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