Passengers get first class treatment

Many amenities in booking and food selection, especially for senior citizens

GN Bureau | February 26, 2015


#railways   #budget   #suresh prabhu   #passengers   #amenities   #tickets   #booking  

After computerization of ticket booking that was a big relief to passengers, railway minister Suresh Prabhu took another big leap in passengers’ amenities on Thursday.

These cover normal to differently abled passengers and may make travelling bit bearable as there are no new trains in the budget document. The commoner will be happy with better ticketing facilities like long duration booking and e-catering. The helpline number for any complaint is welcome move but its effectiveness will speak more.

READ:
Almighty Prabhu and five-point action plan to rescue the railways

Senior citizens:  Increased quota for lower berths for the elderly while middle bay of coaches will now be reserved for senior citizens and women. This will avoid unnecessary hassle faced by the elderly, who sometimes get upper berths which cannot be accessed by them. Online booking of wheelchair facility at stations for the invalid, senior citizens, disabled and pregnant women.

Ticket booking: From April, tickets can be booked four months in advance as against two months period in force now.  On unreserved tickets front the 'Operation Five Minutes' scheme allows booking in five minutes and also five minutes before the departure of the train through smart phones and debit cards.  Hand-held devices with Travelling Ticket Examiners (TTEs) will help in better ticketing at platforms and inside the train.

READ: No passenger fare hike,Prabhu gives ticket to amenities

SMS alerts: Introduction of an SMS alert service to inform passengers of updated arrival and departure times of trains will save time and money for passengers, especially in big cities.

Differently-abled friendly:  Concessional e-tickets for differently-abled  travellers after one-time registration. New coaches will be braile-enabled to help the visually-challenged passengers navigate.

Helpline: A 24X7 helpline number, 138, will become functional to attend to the problems of passengers on a real time basis. Passengers will be able to call up for complaints while on trains.

Booking of retiring rooms: Facility of self-operated lockers would also gradually be made available at stations.  Online booking of disposable bedrolls at select stations is being extended to all passengers through the IRCTC portal on a payment basis.

Other facilities for the passengers: Nine more high-speed trains, faster existing trains, Wi-Fi in 400 stations, user-friendly ladders to mount upper berths,  17,000 bio-toilets in trains, and cameras for safety of women travelers, coin vending machines and 'single destination teller' windows, lifts and escalators at major stations to concierge service at select stations on the anvil.

Comments

 

Other News

Income Tax dept holds Ghatkopar Outreach on new IT Act

The Income Tax Department organised an outreach programme in Ghatkopar, Mumbai, to raise awareness about the key features of the Income Tax Act, 2025, effective April 1, 2026. The initiative is part of a nationwide effort to promote taxpayer awareness, simplify compliance, and strengthen a transparent, eff

Making AI work where governance is closest to people

India’s next governance leap may not solely come from digitisation. It will come from making public systems more intelligent, more adaptive, and more responsive to the dynamics at the grassroots. That opportunity is especially significant at the panchayat level, where governance is not an abstract po

Borrowing troubles: How small loans are quietly trapping youth

A silent crisis is playing out in the pocket of young India, not in stock markets or government treasuries, but in smartphones of college students and first-jobbers who clicked on the Apply Now button without reading the small print.  A decade ago, to take a loan, you had to do some paperwor

A 19th-century pilgrim’s progress

The Travels of a Sadhu in the Himalayas By Jaladhar Sen (Translated by Somdatta Mandal) Speaking Tiger Books, 259 pages, ₹499.00  

India faces critical shortage of skin donors amid rising burn cases

India reports nearly 70 lakh burn injury cases every year, resulting in approximately 1.4 lakh deaths annually. Experts estimate that up to 50% of these lives could be saved with adequate access to skin donations.   A significant concern is that around 70% of burn victims fall wi

Not just politics, let`s discuss policies too

Why public policy matters Most days, India`s loudest debates stop at the ballot box. We can name every major leader and recall every campaign slogan. Still, far fewer of us can explain why a widow`s pension is delayed or how a government school`s budget is actually approved. That


Archives

Current Issue

Opinion

Facebook Twitter Google Plus Linkedin Subscribe Newsletter

Twitter