PTO and Free Pass:

Privilege ticket orders:Privilege ticket orders are issued by departmental officials of the railway, authorizing the issue of tickets to railway servants and their families at one third of the ordinary single fare. Each order is prepared in three counterfoils.

One foil is retained by the issuing office, while the two outer foils are given to the employee. Both the foils are presented by the holder at the booking office for the issue of tickets. The inner foil is retained by the Booking Clerk while the outer foil is delivered to the employee along with the tickets.

On completion of the journey the tickets along with the foil should be collected by the Ticket Collector for submission to the Traffic Accounts Office along with other collected tickets.The foil privilege ticket order retained by the Booking Clerk will be submitted to the Traffic Accounts Office along with the relevant passenger classification return in support of charging reduced fares.

Issue of tickets in exchange of privilege ticket orders: Before issuing tickets in exchange of privilege ticket orders, the Station Master should carefully observe the following instructions

it should be seen that the privilege ticket order is presented at the station to which it is addressed during the period of its availability; that it is complete in all respects, bears the stamp of the issuing office and that there are no alterations or erasures on the order; tickets should not be issued if any of these instructions are not complied.

when the employee himself is included in the privilege ticket order, he should invariably present the order personally at the booking office and sign both the portions of the order in the presence of the Booking Clerk :

The Booking Clerk should compare the signature of the employee as executed in his presence with that already appearing in the order, and if the signatures do not tally, the ticket must not be issued and the order should be sent to the Divisional Office with a complete report endorsing a copy thereof to the issuing office.

when, however, the employee himself is not included in the order, or if included does not travel, the signature or left hand thumb impression of a member of the family should be obtained a lesser number of tickets than that shown on the order may be issued provided the actual number of tickets received by the holder is certified on the face of the order the word “Privilege” should be written in ink or stamped on the obverse of the tickets issued in exchange for the ticket order, the number and class of tickets issued being quoted on both portions of the privilege ticket order.

Exchange of privilege ticket orders or tickets of a class other than that shown in the order:

If the holder of an order elects to travel in a class higher than that shown in the order, the difference between the full fare of the class shown in the order and that of the class in which the holder wants to travel should be realised in addition to the one third fare for the class shown in the order.

A privilege ticket order can also be exchanged for tickets of a class lower than that for which the order is available on collection of one third fare for such lower class, provided the class of tickets issued is certified by the holder on the face of the order.

When the holder of a privilege ticket order exchanges it for a ticket of a class higher or lower than that for which the order is available, he will be entitled to free allowance of luggage, availability by mail trains, and number of attendants as indicated below

Luggage allowance:

  • When changed into a higher class
  • When changed into a lower class. According to class of tickets held.
  • Availability by mail trains:
  • When changed into a higher class, According to class of ticket held.
  • When changed into a lower class. According to endorsement on the privilege ticket order.

Attendants:

When changed into a higher class. According to class for which privilege ticket order is issued.When changed into a lower class. Concession should be limited to what would have been admissible had the privilege ticket order been issued for the class of ticket actually purchased.

If the class of accommodation to which a privilege ticket is entitled is not provided on any portion or portion of the journey covered by the privilege ticket order, a combined ticket should be issued at the request of the holder for the entire journey.

Travelling on unexchanged privilege ticket orders:If the holder of a privilege ticket order fails through any cause whatever to exchange it for a ticket before the commencement of the journey, he will forfeit the concession and be treated as travelling without ticket and dealt with accordingly.

Privilege ticket orders not transferable: Privilege ticket orders are not transferable, and any railway servant improperly disposing of them is liable to prosecution and to dismissal from railway service.

Free passes: Free Passes are granted to railway employees and others in accordance with the free pass rules issued by the Railway Board and any subsidiary instructions issued by a railway administration with the approval of the Railway Board.

Passes are of three kinds;

  1. metal
  2. card
  3. cheque.

In the matter of admittance of pass holders to platforms and of check and examination of their passes, the same rules apply as in the case of ordinary ticket holders. All cases of misuse of passes that come to the notice of the ticket checking staff should be reported by a letter to the administrative head of the office to which the employee belongs, and by an entry in the Ticket Collector’s report (Com./T8 Rev.) to the Traffic Accounts Office.

All orders issued from time to time regarding preferential treatment to ticket holders over pass holders, endorsement and collection of passes, etc., should be carefully followed by the commercial staff.Reservation of accommodation for pass-holders. The following procedure should be followed in making reservations for pass-holders. For privilege and post-retirement complimentary pass-holders.

Pass-holders should present their passes along with the requisitions to the Reservation Clerk who will enter their names in the reservation register strictly in the order of receipt of their requisitions.Reservation will be arranged, if accommodation is available, and if accommodation is not available, a ‘Regret slip’ will be issued and the name of the pass-holder wait-listed. Such wait-listed pass-holders will be provided accommodation according to the instructions laid down for public traffic.

If the accommodation asked for is reserved, the Reservation Clerk will endorse on the face of the pass, the train number and date for which reservation has been made and affix his initials with date.In case journey is postponed, the pass holder should produce the pass at the reservation counter to have the reservation cancelled. The Reservation Clerk will cancel the entries already made on the face of the pass under his dated initials and office stamp (see also para 641). For metal pass holders.

Accommodation for metal pass holders, if available, may be reserved on receipt of telephonic request provided it is confirmed in writing within 24 hours of the time of making telephonic request.If the written requisition is not received from the officer concerned or his Personal Assistant, the reservation should be cancelled without giving him any notice. If the journey is postponed, the intimation of cancellation of reserved accommodation should be furnished to the reservation office immediately by sending a written slip.

When cancellations are made on telephone, these must invariably be confirmed in writing soon after the sending of telephonic message. For other duty pass holders.Reserved accommodation for other duty pass holders will be arranged on production of the duty pass and a signed requisition at the reservation office, giving particulars of pass held and the designation of the pass holder. If the journey is postponed, a written slip canceling the reservation should be furnished to the reservation office, at once, so that the released accommodation may be allotted to those on the waiting list.Telephonic requests for reservation and cancellation will not be entertained.

Changes in reservation by pass holders: Holders of privilege and post retirement complimentary passes may make fresh reservations only if the earlier reservations are cancelled three days before the date of departure of the train. Fresh reservations on such passes will be allowed only once.

If cancellation of reservation is made less than three days but upto 24 hours of the departure of the train, fresh reservation on the same pass may be allowed at the discretion of the officer of the commercial/operating department controlling the reservation office.

In all such cases, the relaxation authorized should be specifically recorded with the name and designation of the officer authorizing it, in the reservation register against the relevant entry.

If reservation is cancelled less than 24 hours before the departure of the train, no fresh reservation should be allowed on the same pass except as provided.Penalties for pass holders who fail to cancel reservations.The following penalties should be levied on privilege and post-retirement complimentary pass holders who cancel their reservations less than 24 hours before the scheduled departure of the train:

  1. 1st class pass . . . . . . Rs. 5 per pas
  2. 2nd class pass . . . . . . Rs. 3 per pass

The penalty of Rs. 5 is also leviable in the case of first class ‘A’ privilege and postretirement complimentary passes on which difference has been paid for traveling in airconditioned class. The penalty amount should be paid by pass holder at the reservation office at the time of cancellation or before seeking subsequent reservation. A money receipt in Form Com./M-2 for the amount paid will be issued.

This receipt should be produced at the time of asking for a subsequent reservation. The receipt number should be noted in the reservation register, but the original receipt will be retained by the pass holder. If the pass holder fails to prove payment of the necessary cancellation charges, and these charges have not been waived by the proper authority, he will be liable for disciplinary action in case it is brought out at a later stage that the charges had not been paid.

When the reservations are cancelled or are not utilized due to reasons beyond the control of the privilege pass holder, like his “leave being cancelled on administrative grounds at very short notice, etc., the penalty charges referred to above may be waived or refunded by the Chief Commercial Superintendent.

The amount of penalty collected from the pass holders will be recorded against the entry of ‘cancellation charges’ in the daily trains cash-cum-summary book.Exemption from payment of reservation fee.Railway and Posts & Telegraphs Departments’ staff traveling on railway passes, passengers traveling on complimentary passes and military personnel traveling on military vouchers of any kind are exempted from the payment of reservation fee.

Reservation fee is also not recoverable from the pass holders traveling in higher classes after payment of difference in fares between the class of the pass and the accommodation reserved in the higher class.