New Delhi: Indian Railways has more than 8500 Stations. It has always been the endeavour of the Railways to provide adequate amenities to the passengers at the stations. Certain amenities are provided at the time of construction of new stations based on anticipated volume of traffic. Amenities are further augmented from time to time with growth in passenger traffic handled at stations, on the basis of the need felt, expectations of the travelling public and availability of funds.
In the recent past, Indian Railways have taken various steps to improve passenger services and facilitate, some of which are given below:-
At stations:
i. Lifts and Escalators at the stations for facilitating movement across platforms.
ii. Battery Operated Vehicles for carrying passengers before/after the train journey, especially senior citizens and persons with disabilities.
iii. Yatri Mitra Sewa for passengers requiring wheel-chair assistance.
iv. Well appointed Retiring Rooms, Waiting Halls and Executive Lounges to relax for passengers during transit.
v. Wi-fi facility at 127 important stations on IR.
In Reservations and during travel:
i. Introduction of the Alternate Train Accommodation Scheme known as ‘VIKALP’ to give option to waitlisted passengers to shift to alternate train having vacant accommodation.
ii. Provision of facility to physically handicapped persons to book reserved tickets online.
iii. Automatic refund of confirmed/ Reservation Against Cancellation (RAC) / e-tickets on cancellation of trains.
iv. Enhancement of Senior Citizen Quota as well as quota earmarked for physically handicapped persons.
v. Provision of facility to book available accommodation after preparation of first reservation chart through internet as well as across any computerized Passenger Reservation System (PRS) counter upto preparation of second reservation chart.
vi. Acceptance of all International Credit/Debit cards for booking of e-tickets through Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) website.
vii. The passengers having confirmed/RAC/Waitlisted PRS counter tickets may cancel the same through IRCTC website (www.irctc.co.in) or through 139 within the prescribed time limit and the refund amount maybe collected across PRS counter on surrendering the original ticket.
viii. Establishment of Yatri Ticket Suvidha Kendras for issuing of tickets through public private partnership for establishment and operation of computerised Passenger Reservation System (PRS)-cum Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) terminals.
ix. Commencement of concierge services with facility for online booking of wheelchairs through IRCTC website at New Delhi and 23 other stations.
x. Provision of Automatic Ticket Vending Machines to facilitate purchase of unreserved journey tickets.
xi. Commissioning of online booking of retiring room at over 490 Railway stations.
Provision of enhanced passenger amenities in train coaches is a continual endeavour of the Indian Railways (IR).
i. Some of the policy decisions taken in this regard are:
a) Provision of cushioned seats in General Second class coaches.
b) Provision of bottle holder in Non-AC Sleeper Class coaches.
c) Provision of dust bins in Non-AC coaches.
d) Provision of mugs with chain in Non-AC coaches.
e) Provision of Health Faucets in AC as well as Non-AC Sleeper class coaches, etc.
ii. IR has also planned to improve the interior of the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) design coaches. New interiors with more pleasing colours, aesthetically designed fittings, paneling, improved toilets, etc. will be provided in the existing coaches by refurbishing them during Mid Life Rehabilitation (MLR). Work in 700 such Model rake coaches is being progressively carried out, out of which more than 100 Model rake coaches have already been turned out.
iii. Various premium services like Humsafar, Tejas, Antyodaya and coaches like Deen Dayalu and Anubhuti, which have improved passenger amenities, have also been introduced in service.
iv. IR has launched Project Swarn with the objective of significantly improving the passenger experience. In total, 14 Rajdhani and 15 Shatabdi trains will be covered.
v. For the assistance of visually impaired travelers, Integrated Braille signages, i.e signages superimposed with Braille scripts, are being provided in the newly manufactured coaches of IR. Retrofitment of the same in existing coaches has also been taken up in a phased manner.
In addition to above, to cater the needs of passengers, Indian Railway introduces new services and extends/increase the frequency of existing services. Efforts are made to speed-up train services and augment them, subject to operational feasibility and commercial justification. These are on-going process on Indian Railway. Further, to meet the extra rush of passengers during festival/holidays special trains are operated and extra coaches are also attached in trains.
