Hardly a day goes by these days without some aspect or other of the
Railway’s plans or operations being portrayed as an exciting new development.
All the accolades won by Railways over the last few years for its dramatic turnaround
from a cash-strapped organization
to one earning enviable surpluses, the most thumping compliment came from
the Prime Minister in a speech delivered in Ludhiana on 29-09-2006: “Our Government
has been praised for improving customer services and reducing passenger fares,
particularly for poorer sections of society. Railway Reforms have been introduced without losing sight of our social
obligation. This is what we call inclusive
growth.”
Spectacular
Performance
Even
for a proud organization with a glorious history stretching back to more than
150 years, this was one of the proudest moments. The spectacular performance was engineered through a policy built
around carrying higher volumes with lower unit costs and sharing the benefits
of the efficiency improvement with customers.
Traffic growth coupled with customer focus and operational efficiency
has been the corner-stone of the growth story. The operating ratio has declined
from 98.3% in 2000-01 to 83.7% in 2005-06. Correspondingly internal generation
of resources has improved from Rs.2350 crores in 2000-01 to 13612 crores in
2005-06. It is likely to touch
Rs.20,000 crores by the end of the
current financial year. The freight and passenger traffic has been growing at
an average rate of 9.4 % and 7.4 % respectively during the last two years
vis-a-vis 4% and 2% achieved during the 13 years preceding them.
Robust operational
and financial performance is a great source of strength. It has imparted the
much-needed confidence and resources to look ahead and serve the customers
better. In the time honoured tradition
of Railways, the surpluses generated have been invested for enhancing capacity
and upgradation of services with the objective of providing efficient, competitive
and affordable services in both freight and passenger segments.
Higher
Quality of Service
Indian Railways
is one of the largest Railway networks of the world with 63221 km of route
kilometres, more than 7000 stations and 1.4 million employees. It carries more than 16 million passengers
every day. With rapid modernization of the economy and the consistent growth
in GDP, the aspiration levels of passengers are undergoing a rapid transformation.
The demand for travel and transport has multiplied. So has the demand for higher quality of service. It is in this background that Ministry of Railways
had decided to earmark the year 2006 as a year of “Service with a smile”.
The aim has been to provide a pleasant experience at all stages and points
where the passenger interacts with the system, starting with the purchase
of ticket.
Pioneers
of e-governance
Indian Railways
was one of the first organizations of the country to embrace the philosophy
of e-governance for provision of transparent and user-friendly services. For
passengers planning an inter-city train journey, one would never be far away
from the computerized Passenger Reservation System (PRS) facilities available
at 1347 locations. Work is on hand to add 155 more locations during the current
year. PRS facilities are also available at locations away from the railheads
including those in Andaman & Nicobar, Leh, Lakshadeep, Srinagar, Manali
and State capitals in the Northeast. The
PRS network facilitates approximately one million transactions every day and
contributes to 55% of the passenger revenue of the Railways. PRS also provides immediate access to information
regarding reservation availability and status.
I-ticket
Taking PRS
services even closer to the passengers’ doorsteps, Indian Railways Catering and
Tourism Corporation (IRCTC), a PSU of Ministry of Railways, provides the
facility of internet based reservation in 171 cities of the country. IRCTC also provides E-ticketing throughout
the country. One can avail of the
services by registering on the IRCTC’s portal (wwe.irctc.co.in), paying through
credit cards/smart cards or direct debit of bank accounts and receiving the
tickets through couriers (I-ticket) or simply printing the reservation slip
(E-tickets) and boarding the train along with specified photo-identity
cards.
Close to
60% of passengers are suburban commuters and around 90% of the passengers
travel on ordinary unreserved or commuter tickets. Automatic ticket vending machines are being provided for
the suburban passengers, as a part of a pilot project in Mumbai area. Monthly season tickets are now available on
the internet in the Mumbai Suburban areas, alongwith the facility of home
delivery.
Modern technology
has also come to a rescue in finding solution to long queues at ticket counters
and the rigidity of having to approach different counters for different destinations/transactions
in the manual system.
Unreserved
Ticketing System
A
computerized Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS), through which tickets for any
destination can be bought and cancelled from any counter, has been developed
and installed. Tickets can now be bought up to three days in advance instead of
the same day in the manual system.
Return journey tickets are also available. As on today 588 major railway
stations have been covered under the system and by the year end 1500 would be
covered. This would take care of 90% of
the unreserved tickets sold.
There are plans to dispense tickets through Automatic
Vending Machines (AVMs) and privately operated points of sale. These measures
are intended to make long queues history. Shorter queues ensure that passengers
willing to pay for their tickets do not have to contend with the frustrations
delays at the counters. Running adequate number of trains
with adequate number of seats/berths and running then punctually is the most
significant aspect of passenger service.
To meet this end, the popular trains have been strengthened up to 22-24
coaches (from the existing 16-18), a number of new services introduced and a
number of trains speeded up. Train punctuality is monitored on a continuous
basis. A programme to extend the platform length of around 450 stations has
been taken on hand to facilitate running of
such longer trains.
All these measures
have contributed to the robust growth in the passenger segment witnessed for
the last few years. The strategy of carrying large number of passengers in
lesser number of trains at higher speeds has also afforded us the chance to
operate without any revision of tariff. In
case of certain classes tariff has in fact been reduced.
Low-fare
AC Trains
A bold
attempt has been made to bring AC travel within the reach of the lower- income
groups. A new super-fast service (Garib
Rath) has been introduced with air-conditioned three-tier and chair car coaches.
The fares are set 25% lower than the
normal AC three-tier/chair-car fare. Amritsar-Saharsa and Patna-Delhi Garib
Raths have been introduced with effect
from 2nd October, 2006, 10.12.2006 respectively.
Enhancing
the experience of passengers while they enter railway platforms and premises
has also been an area of priority. Here
the emphasis has been on improving the facade of the station buildings, the
circulating area for easy entry and exit of passengers/vehicles, illumination,
potable water taps, pay and use toilets, waiting and retiring rooms, passenger
guidance systems (platform surfaces and other platforms services/amenities.
These are tangible improvements which passengers can “touch and feel”. 580
stations have been identified for upgradation to Model Stations with the best
of passenger amenities on the platform.
A Clean Train Station campaign has been launched to thoroughly clean the
trains with mechanized aids.
Interactive
Voice Response System (IVRS) based enquiries have been installed at most of the major stations to
facilitate enquiries about reservations/train
services. Such information is also available in web-enabled formats on Internet. Reservation
status can also be obtained through SMS-alert systems. IRCTC has been mandated
to set up a system of call centres to improve this function further.
Passenger-friendly
Schemes
Other
passenger-friendly schemes launched by Railways include automatic up-gradation
of passengers to higher classes in case of vacancy without charging any additional payment, introduction of
easy-to-read time-tables, Tatkal Booking up to 5 days in advance etc. A Scheme of Frequent Travellers (SOFT) has
also been launched whereby a frequent
traveler is entitled to a complimentary
train trip after certain number of reward points are accumulated.
Indian Railway
Catering and Tourism Corporation has
been mandated to give focussed attention to development of comprehensive on-board
services, modern food plazas, clean and affordable Budget Hotels and a
host of hospitality-related one-stop services.
Public
Private Partnership
Railways
have a well developed and time tested system of public consultation for
development and management of passenger amenities. Divisional Railway Users Consultative Committees, Zonal Railway
Users Consultative Committees and National Railway Users’ Consultative Council
have been playing an active part in guiding and advising the Railway
Administration.
Plans are
in final stages to take up the railway stations in all major metropolitan
cities for upgradation to world class standards through Public Private Partnership
models. If successfully implemented,
it would usher in a radical transformation in perception of stations - railway
stations would emerge as urban icons and most enduring symbol of city’s land-scape.
(Release ID :23806)