A suspected train ticket booking scam has been alleged ahead of the Diwali rush, with a complaint to senior Railway authorities claiming that seats on several Gujarat-origin trains are being blocked under dummy or allegedly fictitious names and later offered to other passengers.
The complaint covers trains originating from Ahmedabad, Sabarmati, Gandhinagar and nearby stations and travelling towards Jammu, Katra, Delhi, Chandigarh, Himachal Pradesh, Kashmir and Kerala.According to the complaint, some tour operators and unauthorised railway agents are allegedly offering “guaranteed confirmed railway tickets” as part of Diwali travel packages, despite not having any special coach or seat quota allotted by the Railways.
The complainant alleges that tickets are booked in advance using dummy names and later handed over to actual travellers shortly before departure. Passengers are allegedly told that their original bookings could not be confirmed, after which they are provided confirmed tickets booked in another person’s name. The complaint has also raised questions about identity verification during travel.The complaint, submitted to senior Railway authorities in Delhi, lists trains, routes, travel dates and estimated details of suspected bulk bookings.
The trains mentioned include the Sabarmati–Jammu Tawi Express, Hapa–Katra Express, Jamnagar–Katra Express, Sarvodaya Express, JAT Vivek Express, Sabarmati–Katra Express, Gandhinagar Capital–Daulatpur Chowk Express, Ashram Express, Yoga Express, Sabarmati–New Delhi Rajdhani and Sabarmati–Banaras Superfast.For travel between November 5 and 15, the complainant estimates that around 100–120 Sleeper Class and 30–40 AC seats per train may have been suspiciously booked. Bulk booking of around 60 seats on trains such as the Rajdhani Express has also been flagged.
These figures are estimates made by the complainant and have not been independently verified.The complaint has also sought scrutiny of Kerala-bound trains between November 6 and 13, alleging suspected bookings of around 100 seats a day.
It further alleges that tickets for journeys originating in Gujarat were booked through Rajasthan PRS counters or agents.The complainant has requested the Railways to examine booking locations, agent and User IDs, mobile numbers, payment methods, IP addresses and linked PNRs. It has also sought preservation of PRS CCTV footage, booking logs, audit trails, duty rosters and payment records, along with vigilance and RPF checks and surprise inspections.
Speaking to the media on condition of anonymity, the complainant said the alleged practice was causing problems for ordinary passengers and called for an impartial investigation.
The complainant said written complaints had been emailed to the Ahmedabad DRM, Railway Board, Railway Minister and PMO.