We thought we were on time, but the train - Cauvery Express - had arrived 20 minutes early. Sister Baby was waiting at a virtually deserted Platform 4. She collected her baggage and started walking (limping) towards us as she spotted me approaching her from the other end of the platform.
We - wife and I - got held up at the ticket counter which had long queue.Automatic platform-ticket vending machine accepts only five-rupee coins. Maybe they can upgrade it,to a ticketing machine that accepts higher denomination currency notes, and also dispenses small change by way of balance. I have seen such gadget at BART stations in California. And they have a bank of ticketing machines at the station entrance, to cater to rush-hour traffic. If an upgrade in Mysore is not feasible, they could set up money-changer kiosks (allotted to the handicapped or other deserving sections), where one could exchange higher denomination currency for appropriate coins.
We could do with more such vans. Presumably, those who need the services of 'helpline cart' phone a designated number. The system assumes that 1)you have cell phone handy, and 2) you know the number to be dialed. Couldn't the railway authorities (or those sponsoring the public service) arrange to have free house-phone installed at convenient points in platforms and other parts of the station complex? This would be a big help for those of us who don't use cell phone. And there are still a suprising large number of rail passengers who don't have cell phone.
