Retiring room a hit among railway passengers

Mohit Khanna

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Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, May 22

Barely a day after its launch, retiring rooms at the Chandigarh railway station have started receiving a huge rush of passengers.

According to the authorities at the railway station, at present one room is available for online booking and it has been reserved for the next 24 hours.

Two fully furnished rooms equipped with double bed, television, almirah and attached bathroom were built to provide comfortable stay for passengers at the railway station.

The retiring rooms were locked for nearly six months as the railway authorities were awaiting a VIP visit for their inauguration.

On Monday, a team of the Parliamentary Standing Committee led by Sudip Bandyopadhyay visited the railway station, following which one room was thrown open for passengers. However, soon after its inauguration, the retiring room became a hit among passengers visiting the railway station.

According to the railway official, passengers check in the room after completing the verification formalities in the room of Chief Ticket Inspector (CTI). One of the woman employees at the CTI office said the retiring room had been booked for the next 24 hours.

Sources said the retiring room was built following complaints that there was no mid-range hotel or “sarai” in the vicinity.

Several passengers at the railway station also expressed similar views.

“Chandigarh is an expensive city. Any decent hotel charges no less than Rs 1,000 for a day-long stay. In summers, it gets tough to locate a retiring room. In such a scenario, we are left with no option but to take shelter at the entrance of the railway station and wait till dawn,” said Rakesh Kumar, a cloth merchant from Delhi.

Another passenger said finally retiring room had been opened for passengers. “Now we will no longer have to look for hotels and shelter home,” said the passenger.

Surandra Kumar, who visits the city from Saharanpur every week for the check-up of his sister at the PGI, was inquiring about the availability of the room.

He said at present only one room was thrown open for public, while the process of linking another room for online reservation was on.

“More such rooms should be established to provide comfortable stay to passengers,” said Surandra.

About the rooms

Two fully furnished rooms equipped with double bed, television, almirah and attached bathroom were built to provide comfortable stay for passengers at the railway station.