Mar 11, 2011 12:12 PM
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Since childhood I have been travelling in Indian Railways & I am a proud INDIAN today to see the progress it has made in the recent past. Here are some facts & figures which should be looked upon before starting the review.
Indian Railways provide means of livelyhood to 17 lakhs people directly.
It has the largest network in the world.
Daily 2 crore people of India make use of the railways.
It has got the best safety recordper person .
New Delhi railway station is the largest interlocking And signalling system in world.
Thats enough for now lets start with the review process:-
Trains:- It has trains running since 1853 .With its rich heritage and history which one can see if he or she pays a visit to the railway museum located in new delhi.Presently it has broad gauge,meter gauge & narrow gauge trains running in its vast network.
Connectivity:- If one wants to see the real india then he should travel by trains as it has huge network and connects every nook & corner of the country.
Service:- The frequency of the trains is upto the mark & one can get his tickets booked through online website/travel agents/ticket booking counters. Urgent travel is required then one also has the option of Tatkal reservation.
Benefits:- No other train service offers concessions to so many categories of people in the world as it is offered in India. Chronically ill gets to travel at fraction of the costs,students too can get discounts,doctors are eligible for 10 percent discounts.Senior citizens,national award winners,handicapped peoples the list is endless. This makes travelling in indian railways truely an amazing & value for money experience.
Stations:- Indian railways has more than 7000railway stations. One has the facility of toilets & drinking water avaliable at the stations.Upkeep of these stations do require a bit more effort but surely the conditions have improved a lot .There are air conditioned waiting rooms,rail yatri niwas facility,low budget hotels like ginger nereby & food and beverages are avaliable 24 hrs at the main junctions.
Ticketing & Refunding:- Many times people complain of tickets being unavaliable or they have not got the refund amount.This is obvious as there are conditions which are out of control to be managed like fog weather ,political rallies,naxal & maoists terror activities. Although steps have been taken to keep a close watch & increasing the security at areas effected .Furthur ,GPS navigation trials are on fast track to avoid delays by fog and one can run trains by keeping in touch with the sat navigation.Refund request should be presented atleast 2 hours before the departure of the train.A nominal processing fee is deducted and rest of the amount is refunded in cash.Online tickets can also be cancelled at the click of the mouse & refund amount can be seen in monthly bank statements.
Accidents:- A policy is in place for the injured & people who get killed in an accident caused by railways.
Monetary compensation is awarded to the family members of the decesed & free health services to those who are injured.Compensation can be obtained by providing the proof of travel by the train met with accident with identification proof.ACDthat stands for anti collosion device which is at a pilot stage of testing in one of the zones of the railways.Soon it will be installed in all engines of the indian railways.
Areas of improvements:-
1) Faster trains should be started.Presently the top speed is around 140 km/hr. Talks are on with japanese consultancy to set up rapid rail networks with much faster intercity travel.
2) Freight corridorsneed to be set up so as to delineate the passenger & freight traffic thereby increasing the operational capability of the railways.
3) Clean stations & clean toiletsin trains should be at the top of the priority list for the railways.Furthur passengers need to be educated about the importance of hygeine.
4)Toilet dischargeshould be collected in a tank inside the compartment & later cleaned at the servicing bays .
5) GRP that stands for govt railway police the agency incharge for protecting the railway property from anti social elements.Guards should be there in every train & x-ray luggage scanners should be installed in sensitive locations which are prone to terror attack
6)Law should be made so as to limit the luggage allowed per person so as to make people realize that one should always travel with minimum amount of luggage so as to avoid inconvenience to others.
7) Timely running of the trains will pull back the passengers who have shifted to low costs airlines.DGCA is an incompetent authority who has allowed untrained & fake license holders pilots to fly passenger jets in indian skies without necessary skills .Disaster can happen anytime.But Indian railways has a policy to take exams of the candidates who wants to be a driver
medically he checked and given fittness certificate after rigrous training only he is handed over the control of a passenger train.
Verdict:- Much more can be written about Indian railways and I have so many special memories related to my travelling experiences in railways.Wheather its travellin in engine of a toy train in himalayan ranges or taking a lift from the guard of a freight train .....One just cant experience the incredible india without giving a miss to indian railways.....Hats off to employees of Indian Railways for making it work......
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