Unprecedented & Historical Nationwide Passenger & Customer Facilitation Fortnight by IR connected over 7 Millions

Unprecedented & Historical Nationwide Passenger & Customer Facilitation Fortnight by IR connected over 7 Millions

New Delhi:  The historical country wide massive public outreach event under the name “Railyatri/Upbhokta Pakhwada” (Passenger and Customer Facilitation Fortnight) organized all over Indian Railways from 26.05.2015 to 09.06.2015 concluded successfully.

This fortnight long programme was primarily directed towards improvement of passenger amenities and services, customer care, participation of passenger and railway staff in various activities and for creating awareness amongst the public about Railway’s initiatives and achievements.

Some of the major highlights of this mega public outreach event include commissioning/opening of 233 projects/works costing approx. Rs.4000 crore, commencement of work on 73 projects costing apporx. Rs.550 crore, inspection of over 7000 Railway stations, 4000 road shows,  Outreach connecting to over 7 million passenger and public, 27,700 drives/checks/inspections, 1,300 health camps, 176 media briefings etc.

The ‘Pakhwada’ events were organized on Indian Railways under the directions of Minister of Railways Suresh Prabhu and  Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha.  A.K.Mittal, Chairman Railway Board and Board Members and the Zonal Railway General Manager along with other officials from Divisions, Workshops, Production Plants and the Railway PSUs participated in various events all over the country. Various seminars/inspections/events during ‘Pakhwada’ were coordinated by Mohd. Jamshed, Additional Member (C&IS), Railway Board as the Programme Coordinator.

The fortnight long Railyatri Upbhokta ‘Pakhwada’ was based on the themes of SEVA (Service),SAMAPRAN(Dedication),SAHYOG Cooperation/participation),SANKALP(Commitment) and SAMPARK (Outreach).

The events undertaken during this fornight long programme included inauguration/launching of completed projects, signing of MoUs with Railways PSUs for upgrading passenger amenities in certain identified stations, formation of Special Purpose Vehicles (SPVs) with the State Governments for joint development of Infrastructure, Road Shows & Interaction by GMs and DRMs with passengers and other customers by visiting stations and by traveling with public in suburban and other passenger trains, interaction with State Government Authorities, interaction with public seeking their support for Railway’s Cleanliness Campaign and Safety Awareness Campaign at unmanned level crossings, inspection of Railway Stations, drive about courtesy programme for the front line staff, health check-up camps, intensive drive to check catering services, vigilance checks, intensive ticket checking drive, drive against touts etc.

During this  fortnight long programme emphasis has been given to improve passenger services and amenities by way of commissioning of projects, assigning railway stations for development to PSUs, launching various drives for cleanliness, safety, punctuality, catering services, security and vigilance.  This was also an exercise to interact with passenger across the country by officers and staff involving unions, NGOs and other organizations.  A large number of other activities with the participation of the passengers were undertaken during this period.

The ‘Rail Yatri/Upbhokta Pakhwada’ from 26.5.2015 to 9.6.2015 has also been a countrywide attempt of Indian Railways to reach out to its customers and engage them in identified areas of interface.  The enthusiasm and response of all stake holders including the railway staff in respect of the programmes conducted during the Pakhwada has been truly overwhelming.  The initial response including media coverage, the feedback received on Face book & Twitter, etc. indicates that the ‘Pakhwada’ has not only encompassed a vast gamut of activities covering nearly all dimensions related to passenger/customer experience, but also engaged the railway staff, unions, senior officers, railway PSUs, NGOs, passenger associations, press and media across the length and breadth of the country at an unprecedented scale.  The sheer dimension and reach of this effort makes it a historical event.

Some of the tangible outcomes of this historical passenger outreach effort of Indian Railways are as under:

233 projects/works of passenger amenities and services ranging from escalators, foot over bridges, station buildings, reservation offices, new platforms, new train services etc. were commissioned/opened for the railway passengers at an approximate cost of Rs. 4000 crore.

Work on 73 projects connected with passenger amenities and augmentation of network capacity was commenced costing approx. Rs. 550 crore.

Over 7000 Railway stations were inspected by railway officials and taken up for improvement in various passenger amenities.

4000 road shows were undertaken by senior railway officers at railway station premises and in trains to interact with rail users, obtain their suggestions and taking feedback on the railway services provided.


Passenger outreach through railway officers and staff, unions, NGOs, scouts, guides, charitable organizations and through social media touched over 7 million passenger and public ( Face Book reach -5 million, Twitter Impressions- 1.3 million and .7 million passenger interactions at stations and in trains).

7500 cleanliness and sanitation drives and inspections were undertaken at various stations, railway premises and colonies under ‘Swatch Bharat Abhiyan’ with the involvement of railway staff, passengers and NGOs.

2700 catering services checks were undertaken in order to ensure quality of catering services and standards of hygiene at various stations and in trains.

4600 intensive ticket checking drives were launched to curb the menace of ticket less traveling and to prohibit the entry of antisocial elements.  These drives resulted in detection of 1.6 lakh cases and recovery of Rs. 9 crore of railway revenue.

3000 inspections for improving punctuality of trains were undertaken during this period.

1400 inspections were conducted to check the presence of antisocial elements, touts and other irregularities by teams of vigilance officers.

Intensive safety awareness drives were launched on all Zonal Railways with focus on precautions to be taken by road users at unmanned level crossing gates.  8500 such inspections were conducted by railway officials.

126 Skill Development Programmes were organized in various Railway Workshops and Production Units to impart training to 5500 persons.

MOUs were signed between Zonal Railways and 5 Railway PSUs for 10 identified railway stations for their participation in development of passenger amenities through CSR.

1300 Medical and Health Camps were organized by the Zonal Railways at different locations which wereattended by 55000 persons both railway employees and their families and also members of public.

22000 staff quarters were taken up for repairs and maintenance in 450 identified railway staff colonies.

590 Yoga camps were organized and attended by 19000 persons.

As an outreach effort 176 Press conferences were organized at Zonal HQs, divisional HQs State Capitals and District HQs.  Over 6700 news items were published.

Participation of State Govts., FICCI, ASSOCHAM and CII was also obtained in Railway’s efforts and outreach exercises.

World Environment Day was celebrated on 5th June, 2015 in Delhi and on all Zonal Railways.

MOU signed for ‘Malviya Chair’ in IIT B.H.U.

Besides the tangible benefits attained through additional facilities created and specific drives launched to improve efficiency, some of the intangible but highly desirable benefits from the Pakhwada include the excellent bonhomie and spirit of cooperation that got generated between passengers and railway personnel and the team sprite partnership .

The sprit and tempo gained in this Pakhwada is sought to be maintained even beyond this period by Zonal and Divisional Railways ever ready to fulfill Railway’s commitment towards its users.