The hike was rolled back for commuters in Mumbai and other metros, albeit post much hullabaloo last week – providing much relief to them. And now a new rider from Mumbai’s lifeline – CR and WR, greets commuters: keep your season passes (MST) safe; the railways won’t issue duplicates in case you lose it. The reason: duplicate passes could be misused.

So, all those 95,192 commuters who obtained annual season passes and 99,091 people who purchased half-yearly passes now need to ensure that they don’t lose their pass. “We cannot issue a duplicate as it could result in misuse,” said Sharat Chandrayan, chief PRO, Western Railway (WR).

In Mumbai, approximately 1.15 lakh people have purchased yearly and half-yearly season passes from WR between June 21 and 24 alone. WR sources say there is no stipulation for allowing replica of season tickets. “Photocopy of a ticket is permitted for long-distance journeys where the berth and coach numbers are allotted to individual passengers. The same, however, is not the case with suburban commuters and so duplicate season passes are not permitted,” said Narendra Patil, chief PRO, Central Railway (CR).

Meanwhile, the commuter associations say they have already issued letters to railway authorities to provide flexibility to passengers buying yearly or half-yearly passes.