Member Initiated Subject - Transforming Indian Railways
I could not find Rajendra ji's post. Seems like someone deleted it inadvertently. Posting the same for everyone's inputs.
Transformation of Indian Railways (Issues, Root Causes, Solutions)
Issues Identified
1 Ticket fares are increased frequently
2 Indian railways is not a high speed network
3 Difficult to get tickets even in tatkal
4 Hygiene issues on the stations and inside the train
5 Food served in the trains is sub-standard
6 Most of the trains are usually off schedule
7 T.T.E collect money from people and then allocate berths to them
8 People are packed into general compartment beyond its capacity
9 A tout can easily get you tickets by taking some extra money
10 Trains are usually off-schedule
11 Most business done with Indian Railways involves bribery and corruption
Root Causes Identified
1. A lot of money gets circulated in corruption
2. Electricity and fuel has got costlier
3 A large number of people travel without ticket
4 Railways has become a giant organization which is difficult to control
5 They need to cater to a huge population base
6 Increase in cost of projects due to delays
7 Un-accountability of officers
8 Passengers are not educated to maintain cleanliness in trains and on platforms
9 Lack of proactiveness among the railways department
10 Every small change needs a lot of approvals to get implemented
11 Most of the procurement and external interaction is in person/manual with no systems
Solutions Identified
1 Transform railways into a PPP model
2 FDI in railways should be allowed
3 Information technologies can be used for live updating of reservation charts
4 Vigilance has to be improved on all TTE's
5 A check need to be put on all the free passes that are issued
6 Increase in the average speed of trains so that the running time decreases and more trains can be run
7 Reduction in concessions given to some special categories
8 Special measures should be taken to maintain cleanliness in the pantry var
9 Every bogie should have a cap on the number of passengers allowed in
10 Touts should be caught and dealt severely with
11 Build better railway stations and build retail spaces around them
12. Performance of the IRCTC website should be significantly improved
13 Indian railways could be used for advertising
14 The logistics arm of the railways needs to be professionally managed
15 Public address system and Wi-fi needs to be installed
16 Electronic Tendering, Procurement and elimination of human interface in all supplier/customer transactions must be implemented. more
Transformation of Indian Railways (Issues, Root Causes, Solutions)
Issues Identified
1 Ticket fares are increased frequently
2 Indian railways is not a high speed network
3 Difficult to get tickets even in tatkal
4 Hygiene issues on the stations and inside the train
5 Food served in the trains is sub-standard
6 Most of the trains are usually off schedule
7 T.T.E collect money from people and then allocate berths to them
8 People are packed into general compartment beyond its capacity
9 A tout can easily get you tickets by taking some extra money
10 Trains are usually off-schedule
11 Most business done with Indian Railways involves bribery and corruption
Root Causes Identified
1. A lot of money gets circulated in corruption
2. Electricity and fuel has got costlier
3 A large number of people travel without ticket
4 Railways has become a giant organization which is difficult to control
5 They need to cater to a huge population base
6 Increase in cost of projects due to delays
7 Un-accountability of officers
8 Passengers are not educated to maintain cleanliness in trains and on platforms
9 Lack of proactiveness among the railways department
10 Every small change needs a lot of approvals to get implemented
11 Most of the procurement and external interaction is in person/manual with no systems
Solutions Identified
1 Transform railways into a PPP model
2 FDI in railways should be allowed
3 Information technologies can be used for live updating of reservation charts
4 Vigilance has to be improved on all TTE's
5 A check need to be put on all the free passes that are issued
6 Increase in the average speed of trains so that the running time decreases and more trains can be run
7 Reduction in concessions given to some special categories
8 Special measures should be taken to maintain cleanliness in the pantry var
9 Every bogie should have a cap on the number of passengers allowed in
10 Touts should be caught and dealt severely with
11 Build better railway stations and build retail spaces around them
12. Performance of the IRCTC website should be significantly improved
13 Indian railways could be used for advertising
14 The logistics arm of the railways needs to be professionally managed
15 Public address system and Wi-fi needs to be installed
16 Electronic Tendering, Procurement and elimination of human interface in all supplier/customer transactions must be implemented. more
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As someone associated with Indian Railways for a long time, the following are the inputs: 1. Reduce these last minute quotas, bring transparency to VIP quote allotment, it should be displayed on the notice board who got VIP quota seat and why 2. Make Railway stations secure like airports, do not allow any non passengers inside the station. Increase the number of personnel to help the needy / physically challenged passengers 3. Lot of Railway land is encroached on, I bet if you sell half of unused land all the railway loss will be wiped off and funds freed for safety and infrastructure investments 4. Solar power to be used in all stations and water use to be controlled 5. Most disgusting aspect is the open toilets in train which put the litter on the tracks. We need to find a better way of managing this 6. Major overhaul of the online reservation system required. It is too slow and no common man can think of getting a tatkal ticket in peak season without agents 7. Different segments of trains, premium services for those who can and want to pay. This should run faster and charge more money, which in turn can help to subsidize the normal train fares 8. Have demand based coaches, e.g. One, if trains are running empty, then reduce the number of coaches. Second, for AC First class. A person booking should be told that if there are not enough passengers, they will be given a AC Second Class ticket and the extra money refunded. more
Jul 07
solutions : Concentrate on projects already announced - that are no where. get extended Deadlines. Costs keep rising. - projects with low gestation period and t cost less , but will improve efficiency. A bottleneck , as of now, large ly complete bur a small kink remains to be undertaken - Contracters to be awarded stiff penalties and supervisor suspended for : # poor quality condition of Food in Pantry car etc # Poor sanitation / hygiene - similarly TTE be held guilty and penalized for unlawful entry in reserved coaches - Passes be cancelled . Where necessary , re-imbursements be announced for categories and upto a limit - DRM's be held liable for lack of safety. Strict action shold be provided , if accidents take place for want of safety measures - DRM 's be hed accountable for poor condition of hygiene / sanitation at the stations In turn the station masters will automaticall start feeling the heat - Increase the no of janta ( unreserved bogies only) trains for short journeys - on the lines of EMU/DMU , but with sitting arrangements and toilet facilities - Prioritize despatch of perishable goods - on priority to avoid wastage / spoilage { Booking clerk / incharge be held accountable and station master should also feel the heat on spoilage } - Consider online issue of unreserved ticket ( for a specific train only, and for fix no of hours - wrt the commencencement of journey of that train { may reduce queue on the counter ) more
Jul 07
