Travelling without Original ID Card along with an E-Ticket - A TrueExperience

[Raghuvir Kamath]

Hi All,

If you have been travelling/planning to travel in the train without original ID card along with an E-Ticket please read on.

This happened to a friend of mine ... read below his story ......

This happened to me yesterday. I was just returning from Tirunelveli to Chennai after attending my friend's marriage. I had booked the E-Ticket and had my duplicate driving license as my ID card to show as a proof for the E-Ticket. As soon as train started moving, the TTE asked for the ticket and the document proof. Obviously I flashed my duplicate driving license but much to my dismay he said I had to pay a fine for not carrying the original driving license. I told him I have been travelling with an E-Ticket for quite some time and I have always shown my duplicate ID card as proof(I guess most of us have been doing the same thing).
What was more disgusting is that when he said he knew I was the genuine party travelling with that ticket but still I had to pay the fine because I was not carrying the original ID card. He proudly quoted that after all he was going by the rule.

Actually if you have bothered to look into the printed E-Ticket there would be an extra "in original" appended to the existing instruction like as below

"Passenger who has to carry the following Photo Identity Card in original"

I guess nobody would have noticed this BIG change in the instruction and what makes it even extremely hard to notice this, is the fact that, the change has been not highlighted in the "important" section (below the ticket details) of the E-Ticket which remained the same.

It seems this change has been there for only 3-4 months as people started misusing this facility. Apparently this has not been advertised properly and sadly one has to experience this situation himself to know something like this exists.

Regarding fine it was 100% of my ticket cost and it would have been 200% if I had agreed to pay it at the alighting point.

So next time when you travel in an E-Ticket please carry your original ID card(whatever you have mentioned at the time of booking).

--
Raghuvir D Kamath
http://picasaweb.google.com/raghuvirkamath/MyPics