The Railways’ myriad solutions to reduce queues at railway stations’ ticket counters seem to have found little success on the ground. For instance, the Central Railway (CR) recently recalled tenders for Jansadharan Ticket Booking Sevaks (JTBS) scheme, which allowed a regular shop or outlet to sell local train tickets. As of now, the city has around 220 JTBS outlets.

While tenders are a routine affair for the railways, what makes this case special is that the CR authorities have been struggling to promote this scheme since September 2013. Back then, they announced the launch of 500 JTBS outlets across Mumbai and its metropolitan region that encompasses 76 stations, which fall under the suburban section.