City Booking Offices And Out-Agencies PDF

1/27/25, 8:39 PM CHAPTER XVII CITY BOOKING OFFICES AND OUT CHAPTER XVII CITY BOOKING OFFICES AND OUT-AGENCIES City Booking Offices 1701...

1/27/25, 8:39 PM CHAPTER XVII CITY BOOKING OFFICES AND OUT CHAPTER XVII CITY BOOKING OFFICES AND OUT-AGENCIES City Booking Offices 1701. A City Booking Office is a booking office situated in the city or town so as to the booking of traffic to and from the city or town. Out-Agencies 1702. An Out-Agency is an office opened in place situated away from railway station in order to facilitate the booking of traffic directly to or from such places. 1703. The opening of Out-Agencies should be encouraged as they are a facility to the travelling and trading public. Any meticulous traffic justification is not really needed for the opening of an Out-Agency. the basic criterion being the availability of a suitable contractor to work the Out-Agency. (See also para 806). Working of City Booking Offices or Out-Agencies 1704. (a) City Booking Offices or Out-Agencies may be worked departmental or through contractors. A contractor where appointed to work a City Booking Office/Out-Agency should execute an agreement before the City Booking Office/Out-Agency is opened. This agreement should provide for the terms and conditions under which the City Booking Office/Out-Agency will be worked. (b) When any difficulties arc experienced or are anticipated in the working of an Out-Agency by a contractor, either due to lack of properly trained staff or any other reason, the question of working the Out-Agency it self by Railway Staff and giving on contract the work of road transport only should be considered. Awarding of Contracts 1705. Contractors for working Out-Agencies/City Booking Agencies should be selected by calling for competitive lenders "open" or "limited" according to the circumstances of the case and the contract awarded to the lowest satisfactory tenderer. Other requisites like financial soundness, experience, availability of godowns. trucks, buses, trained man power etc. being equal, preference may be given to Scheduled Castes/Scheduled Tribes tenderer. When, however, no suitable contractor can be obtained by this means and all the tenders received have been rejected, the arrangements should be made to select a contractor by negotiations. Tenure of Contracts 1706. Contracts should not be awarded for an indefinite period but should be usually limited to 3 to 5 years with a clause for termination in the event of unsatisfactory service, and subject to renewal at the option of the Railway Administration. Restrictions on calling of Fresh Tenders 1707. Fresh tenders should not ordinarily be called for as long as the working of the existing contractors is satisfactory and no increase in rates is sought for. If however, it is felt that more suitable rates together with equally good service would be available, the market may be tested and fresh tenders called for. 1708. The instructions in paragraphs 1705 to 1708 apply both to Out-Agency and Street Delivery Contracts, irrespective of whether the Railway Administration participates in the financial showing of the undertaking or not. Form of Out-Agency Agreement 1709. A Specimen form of agreement for working Out-Agencies appears m Appendix IX. The https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/codesmanual/IRCTCD/TrafficCommericalDepartmentCh17_data.htm#1701. 1/2 1/27/25, 8:39 PM CHAPTER XVII CITY BOOKING OFFICES AND OUT terms and conditions embodied therein are meant for guidance only and may be relaxed or altered where necessary. Form of City Booking Office Agreement 1710. An agreement for working a City Booking Office may be provided on the lines of the agreement for working Out-Agencies with such changes as may be considered necessary. 1711. A copy of each agreement should be supplied to the Accounts Office. the Divisional Office and the Station Master of the station serving the City Booking Office/Out -Agency for then guidance. 1712. It should be ensured that the contractors provide an efficient service, observe the rules and regulations laid down by the Railway Administrations for the booking, delivery, invoicing, accountal etc. of traffic and fully comply with all other conditions laid down in the agreement for the working of a City Booking Office/Out-Agency. 1713. In order to safeguard the interest of the Railway Administration, a City Booking Agent/Out Agent should be required to deposit with the Railway Administration adequate security for the satisfactory performance of the contract and to cover the monthly outstandings. In case of agents having a monthly turnover of over Rs 1 lakh, a Bank Guarantee will be obtained in addition to the security deposit. The security deposit will be equivalent to one month's turnover of the agency. The Bank Guarantee to be obtained from big agents only, will be for the sum equivalent to the turnover for six months. The necessity for the security deposit arises out of the fact that the Out Agent/City Booking Agent is paid on the basis of invoices or way-bills etc. accounted for in the returns, irrespective of whether the freight charges in their connection have been realised or not. It will be the duly of the Accounts Office to see that the outstanding against the Out Agent/City Booking Agent, at any one time, do not exceed the amount of security deposited for the purpose. 1714. In addition to the fare and freight rates chargeable for carriage of traffic over Railway proper, separate charges are to be levied to cover the carriage of traffic between Railway station and a City Booking Office/Out-Agency. whether served by road or ferry. 1715. When there is any question of opening of Out-Agency, the Railway Administration should give due consideration to the rights and interests of other railways who may be interested in the traffic of the area in which the proposed Out-Agency is situated and should not take action which is likely to prove prejudicial to another railway's interests without prior consultation with the Railway Administration concerned. 1716. Each Railway Administration should publish in its Local Tariffs full particulars of City Booking Offices and Out-Agencies on its system indicating the names of railway stations by which these are served. The rates and fares leviable, the free allowances permissible on luggage on the road portion, conditions in regard to availability of passenger tickets, full particulars of the outward and inward traffic for which the City Booking Offices/Out-Agencies arc open and names of contractors working these City Booking offices/Out Agencies should also be published. https://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboard/uploads/codesmanual/IRCTCD/TrafficCommericalDepartmentCh17_data.htm#1701. 2/2