MUMBAI, February 14: A major breakdown in the computerised Public Reservation System (PRS) at Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus today stalled railway reservations in the city and affected reservations throughout the state as well.The problem started around 11 am and by 12.20 pm all the counters across the city were inoperable. People standing in queues from 10 am could be found holding their place even after 4 pm. At 7 pm, the link had still not been restored.Public Relations Officer for Central Railways Mukul Marwah said all the computerised booking centres in the state had been rendered nonfunctional because of the breakdown. ``However CMC, the firm which maintains the computer system in the railways, has been on the job since noon,'' he said. He hoped that a solution to the technical fault would be found soon and that operations would resume by 8 am tomorrow.All reservation activities were halted throughout the city due to the link breakdown. ``I have wasted a day's leave for this and nothing has comeof it,'' rued G K Saksena, who had come to book a ticket for Howrah. Most people felt that since the problem was `technical', nothing could be done about it. ``The word `technical' is all pervasive. No questions can be asked if it is a technical fault,'' said Subhash Moitre, a Calcuttan who is in the city on business.The general mood at most booking counters was one of resignation. People waited patiently, some squatting on the floor, other roaming about aimlessly waiting for the link to be restored. The window clerks, for their part, twiddled their fingers in nervous anticipation of trouble though there was little they could do. They were seen pacifying agitated passengers and trying to direct them to the ticket examiners of their respective trains.
