To,

The Chairman
Railway Board

CC: Hon'ble Railway Minister

Rail Bhavan

Sub: Service Charge on railway tickets booked through IRCTC web portal

Respected Sir,

I am a citizen of India, registered with IRCTC web portal and have been using the portal to book
railway tickets for past few years. Every time I book a ticket online, I am charged service charge in
addition to the cost of the ticket. It has always puzzeled me as to and I have never been able to
understand the reason for the imposition of this service charge, given that I myself fill all the details
online for booking of the ticket and have to incur further cost on printing of the ticket, besides
paying the bank for E-payment service.

I understand that IRCTC is a Public Sector undertaing, and 100% of the shares are held by Ministry
of Railway on Behalf of President of India. This leads me to believe that Indian Railway is
indirectly selling the same tickets at a higher price terming it to be Service charge arbitarily without
any basis.

In this respect I further state that as per financial statement of IRCTC for 30-9-2009, the expenses
on Internet ticketing comes to one-sixth of income from Internet ticketing. Although I dont have
access to the data on the expenses incurred by Indian Railway in the traditional mode of booking
tickets through counter, it is quite apperent that the traditional mode of selling ticket is much more
expensive, given that a rented premises manned by regular employees, equipments and other
expenses are incurred. And by analogy availabel in Banking transaction, where the Physical bank
transaction costs many times that of ATM transaction and ATM transaction itself is many times the
interet transaction.

Now the ticket booking charges by traditional means have already been factored in while
calculating the price of ticket and by using the website, the users like me and others are in a way
reducing the railway expenditure by eleminating the need to open new computerised reservation
centres but a further charge is being imposed, penalising the use of Internet for booking of Internet
ticket in the name of service charge.

I find this treatment to be highly unfair, and against the principal of equality as guaranteed by our
constitution. I really feel that this practice should stop immediately to end the discremination
against people using internet to book railway tickets as against people using the traditional mode of
booking tickets.

I am writing this letter to be apraised of the point of view of railway board, if the railway boad has
envisaged and thought of the issue in different light alltogather, which I have been unable to see
even after great thought and consideration on the issue. If it is so I request the board to please
enlighten me with its point of view else I request the board to treat this letter as a griveance and
complaint which should be addressed appropriately at the earliest, or else I will be obliged to take
legal recource in appropriate proceeding before the court of law.

Thanks and Regards

Sharad Jhunjhunwala