A new ticket booking office on the south side of the recently re-developed Ranchi rail station is crying out for customers while the old one at the front entrance continues to be crowded 24x7 since not many know about it as yet.

On Tuesday, of the six counters at the new booking office, one was open around 1pm. But there was no passenger buying tickets.

“Only one counter is operating now and sale of tickets is on,” said PRO of the Ranchi division of South Eastern Railway Suhas Lokekare.

“Footfall will pick up gradually as and when people come to know about the new booking office,” felt Sheonandan Singh of Doranda who happened to be in the area for some personal work.

But many like Singh believe the new entrance and the booking counter would be of great help to people who live on the southern parts of the city as it would be convenient for them to avail trains from that side.

Some would surely prefer to buy tickets at the new booking office during rush hour.

Prabir Gupta, a resident of Anantapur, said, “We live very close to the station, actually just beside the railway tracks. But we had to take a 3km detour by auto-rickshaw to catch a train when we are carrying luggage.” Now, the new entrance and booking office are just about half a kilometre from there home.

The redeveloped station, that also includes a foot over-bridge and a circulating area, was formally inaugurated by chief minister Raghubar Das on Sunday evening.

“The development of the railway station is totally in tune with the work that is being done for developing Ranchi as a smart city,” the chief minister said and also praised the railways for improving passenger amenities.

The new booking counter was a longstanding demand, explained divisional railway manager B.K. Gupta during the function.

“Those residing in the southern parts of the city or approaching the station from the southern side, the second entrance will surely help them,” he said.

The redevelopment also involved renovation of the concourse area, creating a circulating area, extending parking areas and improving the lighting system.

“All these aspects were under the first phase of the redevelopment plan. The project was completed within four months,” the DRM said that day.

The second phase of the redevelopment work is expected to begin soon. The foot over-bridge will be extended, two more escalators will be installed, a cafeteria will be built and waiting rooms will be extended during the course of the year.

“The second phase will involve an expenditure of Rs 21 crore,” Gupta said.