Divyangjan Passengers Added with More Facilities -Indian Railways

Making Railways Disabled Friendly 

In order to provide better accessibility to Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), short term facilities as detailed below have been planned at all stations, beginning with ‘A-1’, ‘A’ and ‘B’ category stations:-

• Standard ramp for barrier free entry

• Earmarking at least two parking lots

• Non-slippery walk-way from parking lot to building

• Signages of appropriate visibility

• At least one toilet (on the ground floor)

• At least one drinking water tap suitable for use by Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan)

• ‘May I help you’ Booth

In addition, long term facilities, as detailed below, have also been planned at ‘A-1’, ‘A’ and ‘B’ category stations:-

• Provision of facility for inter-platform transfer

• Engraving on edges of platform

In order to facilitate easy movement of elderly, sick and Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) and for smooth access to platforms at major railway stations, escalators have been planned at all ‘A-1’, ‘A’ & ‘C’ category stations with footfall of 25,000 and above and stations of tourist importance. These escalators shall be provided progressively at all such stations.

So far, 456 escalators at 170 stations and 298 lifts at 132 stations have been provided. Further, work is in progress for about 320 nos. of escalators at 129 stations and 338 nos. of lifts at 102 stations. Additionally 372 escalators have been sanctioned for Mumbai Sub-urban sections in current Financial Year (2017-18) on Out-of-Turn basis. In addition, proposal to install additional lifts and escalators on stations covering ‘A-1’, ‘A’ and important ‘C’ category stations are being planned.

Availability of Wheelchairs on Platforms:Instructions already exist for provision of Wheelchair at stations. This facility is provided, duly escorted by coolies (on payment) as per present practice. Zonal Railways have also been instructed to provide one wheelchair per platform and in case of island platforms one wheelchair per two platforms at all ‘A-1’ and ‘A’ category stations.

Battery Operated Cars (BOCs): Zonal Railways have been authorized to introduce Battery Operated Cars at major railway stations for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), elderly and ailing passengers on ‘first come first served’ basis through sponsorship from individuals, NGOs, Trusts, Charitable institutions, Corporate and PSUs/Corporate Houses under their Corporate Social Responsibility free of charge to passenger or to the Railway. 110 Battery Operated Cars have already been provided at 63 major railway stations. Further, instructions have also been issued to Zonal Railways to invite Expression of Interest for providing the facility of Battery Operated Car service on payment basis initially at all ‘A-1’ category stations keeping in view the financial sustainability of the service. This facility can be availed by passengers on ‘first come first served’ basis; preference shall however be given to Senior Citizens, Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan), pregnant women and medically sick passengers.

Yatri Mitra Sewa: ‘Yatri Mitra Sewa’ is being provided at major stations for enabling passengers to book wheelchair services cum Porter services etc. The responsibility of providing Yatri Mitra Sewa is entrusted to IRCTC who may provide this service ‘Free of cost’ through some NGOs, PSUs etc. under CSR or on payment basis. This service can be booked on IRCTC e-ticketing website and 139 (IVRS and SMS) or through a mobile.

Indian Railways have manufactured more than 3,700 SLRD/SRD coaches (SLRD-Second Class Cum Luggage Cum Guard Van & Disabled friendly compartment, SRD- Second Class Cum Guard Van & Disabled friendly compartment) which have a suitably designed compartment and toilet adapted to the needs of Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan)/wheelchair borne passengers. In SLRD/SRD coaches, wider entrance door, wider berths, wider compartments, larger lavatory and lavatory doors etc. have been provided. Inside the toilets, additional grab rails on the side walls for support, wash basin and mirror at lower height have been provided. It is endeavored to have at least one such Integral Coach Factory (ICF) design coach in each Mail/Express train running with ICF coaches. Further, the fully air conditioned (WRRMDAC) Garib Rath trains have been provided with an Air conditioned Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) friendly compartment in the power cars. For assistance to visually impaired travelers, Integrated Braille signages, i.e. signages superimposed with Braille scripts, are being provided in the newly manufactured coaches. Further, retrofitment of the same in existing coaches has also been taken up in a phased manner.

The expenditure on development of Passenger Amenities works including those for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjan) at Railway Stations is generally funded under Plan Head – ‘Passenger Amenities’.

This Press Release is based on the information given by the Minister of State for Railways Shri Rajen Gohain in a written reply to a question in Rajya Sabha .

Source:PIBNEWS

Incorrect SMS sent to passengers by IRCTC

Incorrect SMS by IRCTC

Large number of trains were cancelled due to Jat agitation during the months of February and March, 2016. Cases have been brought to notice where trains were cancelled and SMS was sent to passengers’ mobile phones automatically based on the train status at that particular time. However, since the agitation situation was evolving rapidly and the section was cleared, the trains were restored in the interest of passengers.

The above information was given by the minister of state for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha in Parliament.

Cancellation of PRS counter tickets through IRCTC website and 139 

Railway Minister announces two more passenger friendly services namely

(i) Cancellation of PRS counter tickets through IRCTC website and 139 

(ii) Acceptance of International Debit and Credit Cards for payment for e-ticketing through IRCTC website

Working on the fast track to implement Rail Budget Announcements of 2016-17 ranging from improving passenger amenities to infrastructure development, Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhkar Prabhu in a programme held today i.e. 29.04.2016 at Rail Bhawan inaugurated two very important budget announcements of (i) Cancellation of PRS counter tickets through IRCTC website and 139(IVRS & SMS) and (ii) Acceptance of International Debit and Credit Cards for payment for e-ticketing through IRCTC website.  Shri Manoj Sinha, Minister of State for Railway was specially present to grace the occasion.  Chairman, Railway Board, Shri A.K. Mittal, Member Traffic, Railway Board, Shri Mohd. Jamshed and other Board Members were present on the occasion. 

Speaking on the occasion about these services, Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu, said that the Indian Railways is the second largest commercial organization of the world which has lot of challenges before it becomes of world standard. He said that Railways is a big organization and its some areas need complete revamping and  thus multiple strategies need to adopted and implemented to improve in all spheres. He said that Railways income generation and expenditure needs to be accounted closely so that there can be best use of the public money. He said that Railways principal source of revenue is freight and passenger fares which is 2/3 and 1/3 respectively and thus Railways’ development in all respect depends solely on the improvement of its both these services. He said that the service of Cancellation of PRS counter tickets through IRCTC website & 139 and Acceptance of International Debit and Credit Cards for payment for e-ticketing through IRCTC website is a step towards digital technology which will reduce cash handling. He assured more passenger friendly services in the coming time. 

Speaking on the occasion, Minister of State for Railways Shri Manoj Sinha said that development of Railways is not a single-handed task and thus concerted efforts are necessary which railway personnel are doing day and day out. In a very short span of time of around two months, as many as 8 budget announcements have been fully implemented by the Railway Ministry which has been possible by the mechanised system.  

Salient Features Of the Schemes Launched : -

Acceptance of International Debit and Credit Cards for payment for e-ticketing through IRCTC website

Purpose:

ØAt present, only American Express International Credit Cards are accepted at IRCTC portal through American Express (AMEX) Payment Gateway.  Other International Cards are not accepted for payments as on date.

ØIRCTC will now permit other International Credit/Debit Cards issued outside India also for booking of e-tickets through IRCTC website.  These International Credit/Debit Cards will be used for payment through the payment gateway provided by M/s.Atom Technologies.

Conditions:

Ø4% of transaction value (inclusive taxes as applicable) shall be levied for each transaction through the International Credit/Debit Cards. 

ØThis payment option is available only when ticket is booked at least 2 days in advance of journey date.

ØThis payment option is not available for booking of “Tatkal” or “Premium Tatkal” quota tickets.

ØThis payment option is not available for booking of tickets in “Premium trains”.

Process:

ØSelect the “International Cards powered by Atom” payment option present under ‘Payment Gateway/Credit Card’ category at payment page.

ØInput all the mandatory details for payment at the Gateway page, such as Card Number, Name, Expiry, CVV, Bank Name, mobile number, e-mail and address.

ØAfter submission of all the details, ticket will be booked in case of successful payment response received from the Bank/Payment Gateway.

Benefits:

ØAcceptance of all International Credit/Debit Cards will fulfil the longstanding demand of foreign tourists as they will be able to book e-tickets directly and will no longer depend on other Agencies for this purpose. 

Cancellation of PRS counter tickets through

IRCTC website and through 139 (IVRS and SMS)

Purpose:

To facilitate passengers having confirmed PRS counter tickets to cancel the ticket within the permitted time limit under Refund Rule 2015.  PRS counter tickets can be cancelled through:

(i)  IRCTC website (www.irctc.co.in) or

(ii) 139

The permissible refundable amount shall be collected only at the journey commencing station or nearby satellite PRS locations defined by Zonal Railway within the prescribed time limit.

Facility Available only for Fully confirmed system tickets:

· In normal circumstances only and not in case of late running of trains/cancellation of trains etc.,

·Where the mobile number has been given at the time of booking the ticket.

· Upto 4 hours before the scheduled departure of the train.

Collection of Refund Amount

· Refund of fare amount shall be collected only at the journey commencing station or nearby satellite PRS locations defined by Zonal Railway as under:-

(a) During first two hours of the opening of PRS counters on the next day for the tickets for the trains whose scheduled departure time is (i) between 1801 hours and 0600 hours.

(b) Upto 4 hours after the scheduled departure of the train during the working hours of PRS counters/current counters/special counters where cancellation is permitted round the clock on the  tickets for the trains whose scheduled departure time is (i) between 0601 hours and 1800 hours.

(c) No refund of amount would be given after the above mentioned prescribed time limit.

Benefits:

Apart from cancellation across PRS counter, the passengers having confirmed PRS counter ticket can cancel the same within the prescribed time limit as per Refund Rule 2015 as under:-

(i). Through IRCTC website (www.irctc.co.in) (Steps how to cancel confirmed PRS counter ticket is placed at Annexure-I) or

(ii) Through 139 (Steps how to cancel confirmed PRS counter ticket is placed at Annexure-II)

CANCELLATION THROUGH IRCTC WEBSITE:              (Annexure-I)

* A new page will be given on IRCTC website (www.irctc.co.in) without any login ID for purpose of cancellation of PRS counter tickets.

* Passenger will be asked to enter the PNR number & Train number along with captcha.

* The details entered by passenger shall be validated and an OTP will be sent to the passenger to his mobile number given at the time of booking the ticket. The OTP received on the mobile will be entered by the passenger in the web page and it will be validated by the system.

* After receiving the confirmation OTP number from the passenger, full cancellation of PNR will be done and PNR will be marked as Cancelled but not refunded in the system. Seat/berth will be released and would be made available for booking both at PRS & IRCTC Website. Refund amount due will also be displayed to the passenger on the website.

* An SMS will be sent to the passenger with PNR and fare details - ”Your ticket has been cancelled. PNR, xxxxxx, Amt,xxxxx. Refund of fare amount shall be collected only at the journey commencing station or nearby satellite PRS locations as per the notified time”.

* All the Privilege/Duty pass/PTOs/complimentary pass tickets shall be allowed to be cancelled through website or through 139.

* All types of PNRs including i-tickets (after printing) and system tickets booked across counter/post office/YTSK/Go India terminals/Bank terminals etc.’ will be allowed to be  cancelled on website except the following:

(a). Circular Journey tickets and onwards tickets booked against CJT.

(b). Foreign tourists PNRs against which berth allotment has been done

(c). ATAS generated new PNR

(d). Duplicate ticket.

(e). Cluster ticket and pre-bought ticket. 

CANCELLATION THROUGH 139:                                 (Annexure-II)

Rail Ticket booked through Railway Reservation counter can be cancelled through Railway Enquiry 139.  Service will be available on 139:

(a).  IVR with Agent Assistance

(b). SMS Service

(a). Cancel through 139 using IVR(Agent Assistance)

(i). Customer will call on 139 and select Option ‘6’ from IVR main menu.

(ii). IVR will ask whether it is Counter Ticket or E- Ticket. Press 1 for Counter Ticket or Press 2 for E-Ticket.

(iii). In case customer selects E-Ticket option, IVR will play a message “Currently ticket booked through Railway Reservation Counter only can be cancelled through 139. Press 8 to go back to main menu”

1.Once customer selects Counter Ticket option, call will be transferred to agent for cancellation.

2 Agent will ask the following information from customer to process the cancellation.

a. PNR Number

b.Train Number

3.Agent will retrieve ticket information from the server and confirm it with the customer.

4.After ticket details confirmation, agent will click on “Generate OTP” button to generate the OTP. System will validate the calling number of customer with the number mentioned in ticket details from the system.

5.If mobile number validation fails, agent will advise the customer to call from the same number mentioned at the time of booking the ticket. If number is successfully validated, OTP will be delivered on passenger’s mobile number which he would convey to agent.

6.Agent will enter OTP on CRM and will click “Submit” button to process the cancellation. Ticket will be cancelled and refundable amount will be display on agent screen. Agent will communicate the same refundable amount to customer.

7. Customer has to collect the permissible refundable amount across the PRS counter within the prescribed time limit.

(b) Cancellation through SMS to 139:

(i). User has to send PNR Number & Train Number to 139 in the syntax given below:

CANCEL<PNR Number><Train Number> to 139

Example: CANCEL 2303529769 12420

           

(ii). User will get below response from 139 after mobile number verification:

“Dear User, We have received cancellation request against PNR number 2303529769, OTP against this request is 123456. To confirm ticket cancellation send SMS OTP 123456 to 139.

(iii). User has to send OTP number received back to 139 for second level of confirmation.

OTP <OTP received on Passenger Mobile Number> to 139

Example: OTP 123456

User will get below response from 139:

“Dear User, Your ticket with PNR number 2303529769 has been cancelled, refundable amount is Rs. ----.”

(iv) Passenger has to collect the permissible refundable amount within prescribed time limit across the PRS counter.

Source:PIBNEWS

SMS based Passenger Complaint & Suggestion System (SPCSS) for Indian Railways passengers

Indian Railways have introduced a System where one can complain from a running train. The SMS about complaint will be acknowledged and attended.  Give the Train No., Bogie No., precise nature of complaint like no water in toilets, no lights, fans not working, security problem or whatever through SMS.  The Railway number to which one can SMS is 8121281212.  This will help someone in emergency.

OBJECTIVES

To get complaints/suggestions from customers through SMS for aligning railway resources and priorities to customers’ aspirations and expectations.

To reduce the gap between the customers’ expectations and railway’s performance.

To help railways prioritize focus areas.

To foster greater participation of customers in railway services.

SALIENT FEATURES

Complaint/suggestion can be registered at 8121281212 by sending an SMS.

In response, an automated acknowledgement with a unique ID will be sent as an SMS.

With the unique ID, passenger can know the status of the complaint by sending SMS:- “STATUS < SPACE > < REFERENCE ID>” to 8121281212 or by logging on our website scr.indianrailways.gov.in/

Final reply will be sent through an SMS and will also be available on website- www.scr.indianrailways.gov.in/

Batting legend Sachin Tendulkar on Wednesday recalled a scary experience which he underwent during his school days while crossing the rail tracks here. The former India batsman was speaking at the launch of two initiatives by the Mumbai Railway Police -- SAMEEP (Safety Alert Messages Exclusively For Passengers) and B-Safe. 

"Right from the age of 11, I travelled by trains in Mumbai. When I travelled, I had a kit-

After watching the movie, we got late for practice and hence we decided to cross railway tracks and go to the platform, and board the train at Dadar," he added. The 42-year-old talking about the horrific incident said, "While crossing the tracks, halfway, we realised that trains were coming fast on all the tracks. We ended up crouching on our knees in between the tracks with our kits. That was a scary experience and then onwards we never crossed train tracks." Tendulkar also urged all rail commuters not to sit on train roofs and to avoid travel if the train is crowded. 

"I feel in today's world every minute matters, there is competition everywhere. I feel, a lot of time (the thinking is) if we cross railway tracks, then we will reach quicker, there will be benefit of five minutes instead of crossing the bridge while going to the other platform. These are small things -- one, you are breaking the law, and you are risking life for five minutes," he said. "Your family and friends are waiting for you back home and if you reach there five minutes later it really does not matter. It is important to be there, safe and sound, rather than be in hospital. I will request: do not sit on the train roof and travel if the train is crowded. Everyone is hard pressed for time, but still (I ask you), leave that train, be patient and do not break rules," Tendulkar said.

Source:http://www.mid-day.com/articles/when-sachin-tendulkar-almost-died-while-crossing-the-railway-tracks/16859185

The Indian railways is all set for a complete transformation in the next five years

Japan and Google all set to revamp Indian railways

Japan gears up for a billion dollar investment in Indian Railways Networks:

Japan the country known for its immense technological strides has set the ball rolling for revamping the Indian Railways network with a whooping 140 billion dollar investment to improvise the existing infrastructure. Nearly 400 stations have been listed in the modernisation project of the Indian public transporter network.

Japan will provide its expertise in solving problems of sanitation including the development of waterless, odourless toilets in trains and stations. Japanese officials have also agreed to assist Indian Railways in the zero-accident mission and development of a legal and regulatory framework on high speed railway.

Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu is in Japan to discuss the modernisation and technology upgrade project with the Japanese Prime Miniter Shinzo Abe and Finance Minister Taro Aso. Prabhu also held meetings with heads of leading financial institutions  to highlight the investment prospects in railways in the coming years. railwaPrabhu is on a two-nation visit to Japan and Korea since September 7.

A Japanese delegation will soon visit India to study the opportunities for industries in the railway station development.  The Railways research wing - Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO), will sign an MoU with Railway Technical Research Institute of Japan to carry out research work on acquiring modern technology for the public transporter. 

The tech giant Google recently decided to partner with the Indian Railways for 'Project Nilgiri' and is set to bring in free Wifi access across 400 stations in India.

For this service Google Fiber will be making its way to India. The Google Fiber is popularly known to provide fast broadband in the USA. The services aims at providing seamless network connectivity in select railway Stations across India.

In the first phase of the project WiFi hotspots will be set up  across India over a span of 4 months.

Passengers will be able to access the WiFi after a mobile verification and a one-time password sent over SMS. There will be 34 minutes of uninterrupted service after which the speed will reduce but the connectivity will remain.

 The future of the Indian railways infrastructure looks rosy with the current plans of technological advancement. For any of this to be a reality we need to be more conscious about indiscriminately littering railway tracks and stations.

Source :India Today.

Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu to greet Employees on Birthdays

New Delhi:  K. Kasirajan, Travelling Ticket Inspector in Tirunelveli, would be doubly happy on Friday, his birthday. On reaching office, he will have a pleasant surprise — a birthday greeting from none other than Union Minister for Railways Suresh Prabhu.

Kasirajan is not the only one to be greeted by Minister. All the employees and officials of one of the biggest organisations in the world would get greetings signed by Mr. Prabhu on their birthdays.

“This is one of the several initiatives the Railway Board has taken to encourage the railway men, even as several austerity measures have been proposed to make the organisation profitable,” an official said.

In the greeting, a print out of which would be handed over to the employee by their immediate boss, the Railway Minister wished him and said the birthday was a reminder that the best in him was yet to come.

Stating that railway men are the biggest asset to the organisation, he hints at the proposed transformational journey and says “We are setting direction for a long and difficult road ahead.”

However, exuding confidence in overcoming the challenges, Mr. Prabhu says with faith, courage and dedication, no dream is too big.

The Minister further says, “I hope that in realising this dream, you turn the challenges into opportunities, consider your weakness as motivation and polish your strengths into your uniqueness.”

Huge database

Indian Railway has built a huge data base of the railway employees, including that of various railway units, in its portal, Comptran.

The employees whose personal or railway closed user group mobile numbers are registered in the database would get the greetings in the form of a short message service (SMS). And those whose numbers are not available, will get it in the form of a printout, the official said.

Now, IRCTC Servers can load-balance 7200 Tickets per Minute; can send SMS alerts for train delays to passengers

New Delhi: Now, as many as 7,200 tickets can be booked per minute on IRCTC. “There is a provision in this regard,” he said when asked whether such a facility would be available to passengers on the pattern of SMS alerts about status of train bookings.

Minister of State for Railways Manoj Sinha ​told the Parliament that the capacity of the e-ticket system has been expanded and now as many as 7,200 tickets can be booked per minute. Earlier, only 2,000 tickets could be booked per minute. “In the time to come, we will increase the (ticket booking) capacity,” he added.

Manoj Sinha, while replying to questions in the Lok Sabha, indicated that SMS service on train delays is under consideration.

The railways has taken various measures to make booking or reservation of tickets easier and user friendly, he said.

Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) counters have been provided at more than 5,800 locations and around 1,500 Automatic Ticket Vending Machines have been installed.

To another question, the minister said as a recent initiative, water vending machines are to be set up by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation at identified railway stations to provide low cost clean drinking water.

SMS alerts to passengers on train delays and setting up of 4,615 water vending machines at a number of railway stations are among the new initiatives of the railways to improve facilities for passengers. “At present shortlisting of agencies for water vending machines has been completed. 4,615 water vending machines are to be installed in a phased manner,” he said.

The estimated cost per machine is between Rs 500,000 to Rs 700,000 depending on the quality of parameters of raw water available at the railway station and it would require engagement of Rs 2 to 3 persons per machine.

To another question, the Minister said as a recent initiative, water vending machines are to be set up by Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation at identified railway stations to provide low cost clean drinking water.

“At present shortlisting of agencies for water vending machines has been completed. 4,615 water vending machines are to be installed in a phased manner,” he said.

Railway Minister launch ticketing app for those without reserved seats in Mumbai

NEW DELHI: Railway minister Suresh Prabhu on Wednesday launched a mobile ticketing app for unreserved tickets that will cover 35 stations between the 123 km long Churchgate-Dhauroad suburban section in Western Railway.

He also launched a SMS destination alert service for premier trains.

In a major benefit for people in the Hindi heartland, the minister also announced that the e-ticketing portal of IRCTC would now be available in Hindi.

"We are committed to provide better facilities for passengers," said Prabhu, launching the three services

In April, the mobile app was introduced between Egmore and Tambram suburban sections in Chennai under Southern Railway zone on a trial basis. The mobile ticketing application for unreserved tickets aims to facilitate a hassle free travel for lakhs of daily passengers in Mumbai.

The "utsonmobile" paperless unreserved ticketing feature in mobile application aims to eliminate the need for printing of unreserved tickets. The app, which is for both Android and Windows platforms, can be downloaded from Google Play Store or Windows Store by the user.

The application provides necessary on-screen alerts to guide the passenger during the booking process.

Payment for the ticket is done through the "railway wallet" feature in the App. After booking the ticket, the passenger will get ticket confirmation screen, which will contain limited information about the ticket.

The transporter plans to extend the paperless service in suburban section in all metros.

More than one crore passengers travel daily in the unreserved category across the country and railways use 1200 metric tones of paper every year for printing unreserved tickets.

Source : Times Of India.

Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu Inaugurates Three Passenger Amenity Projects Namely, e-Ticketing Hindi Website, Paperless Unreserved Ticketing on Mumbai Suburban through Mobile Phones and Destination Alert Service in Rajdhani and Duronto through SMS. 

Fulfilling yet another commitments of the Railway Budget 2015-16, the Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu inaugurated three passenger amenity projects namely, NGeT (Next Generation e-Ticketing) Hindi Website, Paperless Unreserved Ticketing through Mobile Phones for Mumbai suburban (Western Railway Network) and Destination Alert Service in  Rajdhani and Duronto through SMS at a programme held at Rail Bhawan  today. The persons present on the occasion included Chairman Railway Board Shri A. K. Mital and other Railway Board members.  The paperless ticket on Mumbai suburban was inaugurated through video-conferencing between Rail Bhawan in Delhi and Western Railway Hqrs. in Mumbai.  

Referring to his Railway Budget announcements, the Railway Minister said that today with the launching of a new service portal for booking e-Tickets in Hindi for Railway passengers, an important Railway Budget commitment. He also said recently we have taken some other passenger friendly initiatives like launch of SUVIDHA class of trains which are dynamic fare based premium trains and automatic fare refund system in case of cancellation of a train. We have also taken steps to improve Railway freight income by way of adoption of new freight incentive schemes. We also observed Rail Yatri Pakhwada recently, which was one of the biggest public outreach events in the history of India and helped develop connection with around seven million people across the country. The Senior Railway Functionaries interacted with the public during this fortnight and worked for resolving their problems.  Many new projects were commissioned during this period and the entire Railway machinery was galvanised. These steps are probably something unprecedented. We must work for the development of the organisation.  The Minister thanked media persons who carried along with them the total concept of Rail Yatri Pakhwada and made the people’s participation a reality which is very important. The Minister said that People and we must work together to make it all success. 

The Minister said that railways have always been conscious about passenger amenity and as a fallow up, design of coaches has been improved with cost economy. Punctuality, comfort of Railway passengers have always been our priority. Railway   Budget announcements are being translated into reality.  Referring to the paperless ticket concept, the Railway Minister said that this has successfully worked in Chennai Subrban Railway Network and now it has been launched in Mumbai Subarban Railway Network.  Similarly, destination alert in Rajdhani and Duranto trains which has been launched today are very useful services for the passengers.  The Railway Minister pointed out that all these IT initiatives are in line with the digital India concept of Hon’ble Prime Minister Shri Narender Modi.  

Referring to the most ambitious Railway project of Dedicated Freight Corridor, the Railway Minister pointed out that the Cabinet has recently approved the revised cost estimate for this project of Rs.81459 crore. The Minister also pointed out that Dedicated Freight Corridor Corporation of India has awarded contracts worth more than Rs.15,000 crores in recent months which is a remarkable progress and which is much more than the total works awarded by the same organisation in the last six years.

Now get peaceful sleep on board trains as Railways introduces ‘Wake-up Call’ alarm!

Lucknow: Now, railway authorities will send wake-up alerts on your mobile-phone as and when you wish before you reach your destination during train journeys.

How? The national transporter has launched the ‘Train Wake-up Alert’ Call and ‘Train Destination Alarm Call’ as a pilot initiative. This service will be promoted as a joint initiative by IRCTC of the Railway and Bharat BPO.

“The ‘Train Wake-up Alarm Call’ facility for rail passengers is available on 139 and through customer service agent anytime during the journey as chosen by the passenger. The ‘Train Destination Alert Call’ is available on 139, through agent assistance and on SMS 139 just before the destination,” said railway spokesperson Neeraj Sharma.

When a passenger dials 139, option 7 leads to a sequence of steps wherein the he/she has to enter required data such as PNR number, STD code of station, station name (Presented as a List of Numerals) etc, to set the ‘Wake-up Alarm’. Railway sets an alarm on the system with the necessary user inputs.

“The wakeup alarm call shall be played through an outbound call 30 minutes before train reaching destination station. System will check current position of train before sending the call. In case is late by more than 30 minutes, the alarm shall be delayed by 30 minutes,” the spokesperson added.

Similarly, the ‘Train Destination Alert Call’ provides an option to Indian Railways Passenger to set an alert/ pre-information call before reaching the train on his destination. On dialling 139, option 7 leads to a sequence of steps wherein the user enters required data such as PNR number, destination station name etc to set the alert call alarm. The Railways sets the alarm on the system with the necessary user inputs.

“Destination call alert shall be played through an outbound call 30 minutes before train reaching destination station. System will check current position of train before sending the Alert call. Integrated with real time train running information, in case the train is late by more than 30 minutes, the Destination Call shall be delayed by 30 minutes,” he added.

Besides, the Voice Call, the passenger can also opt for the destination alert on SMS mode with required inputs like PNR, Train No, train destination name etc

Passengers can also Lodge their Complaints Through ‘SMS’

The Minister of Railways Shri Suresh Prabhakar Prabhu launched a ‘Customer Complaint Web Portal and Mobile Application’ (android/windows based mobile App), at a function here today. Speaking on the occasion the Railway Minister said that this ‘Customer Complaint-cum-Suggestion’ portal and mobile App which can be freely downloaded, will be very useful as one can track the status of the complaints which he or she registered on this portal with the help of mobile App. He said that Railways welcome suggestions from the people to further improve the passenger services and valuable suggestions on this newly launched portal can be incorporated in all possible ways, if found suitable. He appreciated the efforts made by Railway officials and thanked them for implementing this new customer friendly initiative in a very short time, just three days after the announcement of the same in the Railway Budget 2015-16.

The passengers who want to complain or make any suggestions may download the mobile App from the URL www.coms.indianrailways.gov.in. The passengers can also file their complaints and suggestions on the web page www.coms.indianrailways.gov.in .   The passengers can also SMS their complaints on mobile number +91-9717630982.

Also present on the occasion were, Chairman, Railway Board, Shri A.K.Mital, Board Members and other senior officials of the Indian Railways.

The Complaint Management System (COMS) portal consists of the following applications:-

A mobile app based complaints and suggestions application (currently on the android platform).

A web based complaints and suggestions application on URL www.coms.indianrailways.gov.in.

A SMS based complaints and suggestions application on the number +91-9717630982.

A link to Centralised Public Grievance Redress and Monitoring System (CPGRAMS) will also be provided.

Mobile Apps

Indian Railways are launching  the first  mobile phone App  for registering passenger complaints

The first  Mobile App is on the Android platform

The Mobile application has been implemented using Android 2.3.3 (and above) platform and would be made available for  Windows Phone 8.1 (and above).

The Mobile App uses the latest technology namely  HTML5,  JavaScript, CSS3.1

The Mobile App can be downloaded from Google Play Store.

A fast and user friendly structured interface has been provided to register complaints on mobile phones.

Complaints will be provided with a unique complaint ID number.

Complainants can use the unique ID number to track progress of complaints.

The complaint will be auto assigned to the concerned railway functionary for redressal.

Validations for station name, train number and PNR number have been built into the application for user convenience.

The complaints will be stored in the database.

Detailed MIS reports with various zone wise, division wise, type wise, filters will enable effective monitoring at the administrative end.

The Mobile App is linked to the Complaint Management portal of Indian Railways, where complaints can be registered through Web (www.coms.indianrailways.gov.in)  and SMS (+91-9717630982).

Web based Complaint Management Application:

Passengers can also register complaints through the Web. The complainants will be assigned unique ID number with which they can track the progress of   complaints.

The complaint will be auto assigned to the concerned railway functionary for redressal.

Detailed MIS reports with various zone wise, division wise, type wise, filters will enable effective monitoring at the administrative end.

This Customer Complaint Portal will also be available in Hindi and other regional languages.

SMS based Complaint Management Application:-

Complaint or suggestion can be sent as free flow text as SMS to   the number 9717630982. Complaints will be also be assigned a unique complaint ID number which can be used for tracking.

Allahabad HC asks Indian Railways to introduce SMS service for distress calls

Allahabad (ALD):  Allahabad High Court has said that the Indian Railways should put in place a system for making distress call through SMS and other mobile applications.

“Railways should implement short messaging service (SMS) as well as push button for making distress calls. They have expressed some practical difficulties in implementing it. Let Director RDSO appear on the next date to discuss difficulties and expenditure involved in the project,” a bench of Justices Sudhir Kumar Saxena and Rakesh Srivastava said.

“What we want is that complaint can be made through text messages/WhatsApp on the helpline of the board 1322. Railways may also consider a plan to give helpline numbers on the reverse side of tickets,” it added.

The Lucknow bench of the court gave the directions on a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) regarding safety and security of the railway passengers.