Suggestions for Indian Railways : Bring metro-rail services under Indian Railways
Courtesy,Inidan Rail
Bureau,Odishabarta
By;Subhash Chandra Agrawal
Indian Railways is life-line for citizens of India both for passenger-travel and goods-transportation. However, some important reforms can be beneficial both for passengers and Indian Railways.
Branded packed food-items should replace cooked meal in train-journey
New Delhi,(16/08/26: There are frequent reports about cooked meal served in trains. There are also reports that at times cooked food served in trains is prepared in unhygienic conditions by the vendors given contracts to provide food served in trains thus playing with lives of passengers. Only packaged food preferably baked food should be served in trains to ensure hygiene. It will also take care of peculiar food-habits of many passengers(especially minority Jain community) like avoiding onion and garlic. Thirty Parliamentarians once appealed to government for packaged biscuits procured from reputed companies recommended by Mumbai-based Biscuits Manufacturers Welfare Association (BMWA) to replace cooked food in Mid-Day meal-scheme. Indian Railways can approach Biscuits Manufacturers Welfare Association (BMWA) to provide products manufactured by its members for preparing special packs exclusively for Indian Railways directly at ex-factory prices.
The then Railway Minister once had sweet dreams of No-Tip era in trains with his announcement of some steps to prevent over-charging of food like free food-supply in case no bill is given. But in practice, all this is not at all practical. Only and best remedy is to replace food-serving by sale of packaged food by giving some nominal sale-commission to serving railway-staff. It is indeed very insulting that railway-staff towards end of journey start begging for tips even from foreign tourists which harms image of nation. It is beyond understanding how dream-steps of Railways can practically check begging tips by railway-staff.
Extend scope of IRCTC widely to prepare packaged food for schools and trains
Units of Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) should be set up in every district of the country which may also produce baked items. Packaged food-products prepared by IRCTC can be provided for train-passengers. IRCTC products then can be sold in open market also for developing a healthy competition with private companies to sell quality products at economical prices. It will also provide large scale employment even in rural areas preventing migration to cities in search of employment.Initial funding required for such mega-project of IRCTC can be generated through long-term tax-free bonds for disclosing unaccounted black money.
Religious tourism should be promoted on lines of Srilanka
Collaboration should be made with some air-conditioned guest-house (private or government) for comfortable stay provided with bus-service between Katra railway-station and the collaborated guest-house for desiring passengers. Rather a package-tour between New Delhi and Vaishno Devi can be designed by IRCTC comprising of travel through Vande Bharat Express, stay at air-conditioned guest-house and helicopter-service. Some coaches can be reserved for group-booking also. Similar package-tours through Vande Bharat Express to other religious places can be a boon to largely religious-minded members of public in the country, and to promote much-desired religious tourism in the country like is being done in Srilanka to attract Indian tourists.
Misuse of free rail-travel with one companion by entitled ones
There are reports that certain persons entitled for free rail-pass with a companion like even aged freedom-fighters misuse facility of taking one companion along with them free in railway-trains. They reserve berths for two including themselves, and then sell free rail-pass of the companion to other at some discounted price.
Railway Board should devise mechanism to prevent such misuse. It can be made compulsory to submit ID proofs of the entitled one and the accompanying companion with signatures while getting free rail-passes. Original ID proofs by both the entitled one and the accompanying companion should be made compulsory to be carried while travelling along with another set of photo-copies which should be got signed before the Train-Ticket-Examiner TTE while checking the rail-pass during the journey. Facility of free-rail-pass should be withdrawn immediately if being found being misused.
Free entitlement of rail-travel including for Parliamentarians and those travelling at government-expense including for those in public-sector-undertakings should only be for two-tier air-conditioned rail-travel rather than for first-class air-conditioned class or above.It is improper that some Parliamentarians demanded priority reservation in trains on their recommendations. System of every type privileged priority train-reservation should altogether be abolished.
Bring metro-rail services under Railway Ministry
Metro-rail services presently under Union Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs should better come under India Railways for better co-ordination and more importantly with similar types of services. Rather than providing free metro-rail services for women as desired by some ones just for vote-bank politics, metro-rail service in Delhi should provide better and extended metro-services in Delhi by operating metro-service round the clock especially including in Airport Express. These extended services can be at intervals of half-an-hour in late non-peak night hours. System will provide cheaper, convenient and safe travel during night-hours, and is utmost necessary for Airport Express because of flights arriving and departing 24-hours a day. People have to spend so much in taxis that too with late-night charges. Two-seater benches for senior citizens and disabled persons should be four-seaters in metro-coaches to be manufactured in future.
DMRC has provided sufficient number of escalators at all DMRC stations in addition to lifts where escalators are more popular. It is observed that at some of DMRC stations, provision for providing escalators is there but are yet to be installed. DMRC should make a survey of all DMRC stations, and urgently take steps to install escalators at the place provided for these. Furthermore, at most of DMRC stations, escalators are only for climbing up. DMRC should also provide escalators for stepping down especially for comfort of senior citizens and ladies. Since there are a number of escalators alongside stairs, some of these can be converted for stepping down which can be done just by way of a switch to convert climbing-up escalators to stepping-down escalators.
Only recently, DMRC has changed names of some of its stations like UdyogBhawan station has been renamed as SewaTirth station. Names of some other DMRC stations need to be changed to give preference to Hindi. Like Vishwavidyalaya station is named commonly both in Hindi and English, likewise Cabinet secretariat station also known as KendriyaSachivalaya station in Hindi should be uniformly named as only KendriyaSachivalaya station also because popular nouns are never translated. Surprisingly one of DMRC station is known as Yamuna Bank station as if there is a commercial bank named as Yamuna Bank nearby the named DMRC station. This station should be named as either Yamuna Teer station or Yamuna Paar station for ease of users and also for giving preference to Hindi.
All encroachments alongside walls of DMRC stations should be immediately removed for clearing approach-roads to DMRC stations. Large scale encroachments are noted on approach-lanes leading to DMRC stations like from Dr HC Sen Road to Chandni Chowk station (near Bhai Matidass Chowk) causing great difficulty in reaching to and coming out of Chandni Chowk station. Even commutators often prefer using Omaxe Mall instead of going through highly congested approach-lane filled with hawkers, many of them being given official tehbazari by Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD) due to influence of erstwhile elected representatives and corrupt MCD staff. If needed, DMRC should approach courts for urgent hearing to remove all these encroachers. Approach-lanes to DMRC stations thereafter should be rebuilt for smooth walking of DMRC passengers.
Writer is Guinness World Record Holder for writing most letters and RTI Consultant
1775, Kucha Lattushah, Dariba, Chandni Chowk, Delhi-110006 (India)
E-mail [email protected]
Mobile Number +91-9810033711
Follow me on twitter @subhashrti
