Mamata Didi, here are 12 pain points in the railway

23/02/2010

Mamata Didi, here are 12 pain points in the railway

This year’s Railway Budget is round the corner. As usual, the focus of Railway Minister Mamta Banerjee would be on number-crunching revenue earned and spent, the number of new lines added, revenue allocations and, ofcourse, some favouritism to Bengal.

Remember, West Bengal is due to go for elections early next year and Mamata would like to take the maximum advantage by pampering the State.

But in all this exercise, the common traveller, the `aam admi', is often pushed around as a third class citizen. Here are some pain points in the railways from a traveller's perspective:

1. Cleanliness

Cleanliness is often neglected at many places. Platforms are dirty and the less said the better about waiting rooms. Facilities in the waiting rooms are poor. Compartments have rats and cockroaches trying for a `seat' along with passengers. Toilets are not cleaned often. The dustbins are not cleared. In cities like Mumbai, the platforms are often in a mess. And this is an understatement.

#Toilets are not clean and water problems exists.(vibha)

2. Food

The food served in the trains and platforms is poor in quality. Despite private players stepping in, the choice is very little. Tea and coffee are poor in quality and quantity. Hygiene and price have to be constantly checked.

3. Security

Of late security has become a major concern. Cases of passengers getting looted, killed by thugs or held to ransom are on the rise. Safety of passengers and luggage is a major issue in long-distance trains. Security on platforms has to be addressed on a priority basis.

#First aid facilities required in the platform for unforseen cases and accidents.(vibha)

4. Ticket

It has become impossible to get an ordinary reserved ticket in any of the classes, especially Third Class AC. With more than half of the reserved quota kept for `Tatkal', passengers are forced to pay more. Introduced by Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Tatkal scheme is in a way looting the passengers. Why keep aside half the number of seats for Tatkal? Apart from this, people cannot plan their trips as they are not sure whether they would get a ticket in the first place.

5. Online booking

Try booking a ticket at 8 am. The lines are jammed and if you are lucky, you get linked to the railway website. Why not open the booking for 24 hours or add more lines.

6. Disabled unfriendly

Most platforms are not disabled-friendly. These passengers are forced to climb stairs and find it difficult either to get in or out of compartments.

7. Senior Citizens

Many platforms are not friendly to senior citizens. Apart from this, senior citizens and women often find themselves getting an upper berth in a reserved compartment.

8. On-time arrival

Though punctuality has improved, a lot could be done in this regard. Often, the trains arrive on time or before, but are made to wait at the outer signal for want of a platform. Probably, better planning could be done in this regard.

9. Odd hour arrivals

Many trains arrive at odd hours. It is understandable that all trains cannot be made to arrive at convenient timings because of shortage of platforms. But when trains arrive at odd timings, arrangements should be made for proper onward transportation, waiting and security.

10. Unreserved compartments

The unreserved compartments are few and over-crowded. The facilities are also very poor. The same is true with compartments reserved for women.

11. Rest of India, except Bengal and Delhi, neglected

Most trains are either from or to Bengal. Earlier, during Lalu Prasad Yadav's tenure, most trains chugged into Bihar. This political favour in a railway budget must stop. For example, most Duronto trains are in the north or east (Bengal). There are not many from West or South.

12. Most promises are not kept

Most railway budgets come loaded with promises. Many of them do not see the light of the day. Have an audit system to report on the progress of each promise.

Source: India Syndicate

Task before Ms Banerjee:

Be the change she wants to bring

New Delhi: Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has perhaps unwittingly raised the bar for herself for the coming Budget by unveiling a vision for the railways for the next 10 years which borders on the grandiose. If the railways' share of GDP is to rise from the present 1.18 per cent to 3 per cent, then the extra effort has to begin now. Ms Banerjee, as is her wont, has asked for a massive rise in budgetary support for the railway plan, by as much as five times the annual average of what was offered in the last five years, to fulfil the vision of rapid growth. But the Union finance minister has lost no time in bringing her down to earth, clearly indicating that the sharp rise in investments will have to be substantially funded by the railways themselves. Thus, the pressure will be on the railway minister to show that for its part the organisation has put in an extra effort to generate a higher surplus, thus creating the moral ground for demanding more form the general pool of resources. The benchmarks for this are clear. The operating ratio for the railways has sharply deteriorated from the last boom year, 2007-08, going up (expenses eating up more of revenue) from 75.9 per cent that year to 92.5 per cent in the budget estimates for the current year. Now that the slowdown is over and the economy is clearly returning to the earlier trend growth path of 8 per cent, the onus will be on the railways and its minister to slowly return to the earlier ratios. In fact, "better than the best" should be the motto but since the wages of a new Pay Commission will have to be borne, achieving the earlier ratios will be creditable enough.

To get there, the minister should unambiguously raise passenger fares, which have stagnated for years and so added to the deficit that the rest of the organisation has had to bear. But since there is no signal so far that this will be done, the burden will have to be carried by freight earnings. The marketing people in the organisation will have to continue with what they have been successfully doing in recent years, incentivising higher freight offerings through attractive discounts and flexible tariffs. Ms Banerjee should focus on ensuring zero accidents and create a road map for it. Ms Banerjee has invested time and energy in creating a vision for the railways and in improving management systems. She has some good ideas that deserve implementation. Reports from West Bengal indicate that she is changing her old agitational ways and officials in Rail Bhavan are happy that she listens to them quite a bit. She should use her prime time Parliament speech to reveal to the nation a bit more of her rational self which she has so far chosen to hide from the public.

Source: Business Standard