It was utter chaos and long queues at ticket counters of major railway stations in the state for nearly four hours on Thursday as the reservation facility broke down due to a technical glitch at the main grid in Chennai.
“The problem occurred in big stations where the computers are directly linked to the main grid in Chennai. We started encountering the problem from 2 pm, but the glitch was fixed four hours later,” a railway official said.
Commuters of long-distance trains originating from the southern region were the worst affected.
“Many could not know whether their waiting-list tickets got confirmed or not,” said the railway official.
“TTEs were directed to accommodate the maximum of waiting list passengers in reserved compartments. The Janshatabdi Express ran without the passenger charter list,” the official added.
“I was having a waiting-list ticket but I couldn’t confirm from the railway site or through the 139 facility about the status of my ticket. When I contacted the station master, I was told to consult the TTE,” said Anju George, a nursing student travelling to New Delhi from the Ernakulam Junction railway station, on KK Express.