Bhubaneswar: Ministry of Railways has decided to engage Station Ticket Booking Agents (STBAs) at small Stations considering the safety-related responsibilities of Assistant Station Masters (ASMs) who sell TrainTickets in these Stations.
In view of the above, East Coast Railway has decided to engage STBAs at NSG-5 & 6 categories of Stations. These Station Ticket Booking Agents will get commission on the sale of tickets sold by them. The selected STBAs will sell unreserved tickets through computerized Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS).
The number of counters in a station for engaging STBAs will be planned by Railway administration through a committee comprising officers of Commercial, Operating and Accounts Departments. East Coast Railway will engage the STBAs from the residents of local block/tehsil in which these stations are located.
The computerized Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) will be provided by Railways with maintenance facilities, electricity and hiring of channel along with free space. The STBA operator will be allowed to sell all types of non-concessional unreserved tickets through UTS, including Platform Tickets and Season Tickets. Renewal of Season Tickets and issue of Senior Citizen Concession Tickets will also be done at this UTS Counter operated by STBAs.
All other concessional tickets requiring documentary proof before issue of tickets can also be supplied by STBA after permission from the ASM concerned. Under the East Coast Railway jurisdiction, STBAs have been provided in 132 Stations out of 233 NSG-5 & 6 Stations. Applications will be called for through notification to engage STBAs. The applicant must be above 18 years of age and should have passed minimum 10th Class.
After engaging the STBAs, ASMs will be relieved of their Ticket selling duties and will solely focus on train operations thereby ensuring better safety of passengers. Also, passengers will not have to wait in queues as dedicated Ticket Selling Agents (STBA) will be available for ticket selling.