12-18-2006, 12:22 PM
People of India need a passenger oriented mass transport system. Indian Railways fits the bill but it has become operation oriented. Any thing related to passengers is pushed in the background. Its only motive has become earning profits. There is nothing wrong in it but it can not be the sole motive.
A public sector service provider should concentrate on the quality of service. Profit will automatically come. But Railways have given top priority to profit and for this it has not felt shy even to cheat the passengers. Railway minister shouted that he had not increased the fare, but the fact is that he has picked the pocket of passengers under other charges. Let me explain one such picking of pocket. A passenger reserving seat/berth is now charged a minimum of Rs. 15 extra if he is not boarding the train from the same station. I have to pay Rs. 15 more for return journey reservation from Agra to New Delhi. For Shatabdi and Rajdhani this amount is more. How many people are making such reservation, add and see the figure. Railway minister did not shout about it. It is nothing but cheating.
Has the Railway Minister talked about safety, punctuality, quality of on-board services, safe food, cleanliness, and any other aspect of interest to passengers? Sometime back, a panel appointed by Delhi High Court visited Railway kitchens at New Delhi, Old Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations. The members were shocked. Kitchens were full of rats and cockroaches.
Recently a consumer court has asked railways to improve services. including platform conditions and toilets. The court requested Railway minister to spare some amount out of the widely publicized profits of hundreds of crores by the railways on improving the plight of commuters. The court further said that railway platforms are in very bad condition, toilets are stinking, there are no benches for passengers to sit while waiting for hours on platforms, and there is utter chaos.... sanitary conditions are bad and coaches are pathetic.
From passenger point of view, Indian Railways is the worst service provider in India.
A public sector service provider should concentrate on the quality of service. Profit will automatically come. But Railways have given top priority to profit and for this it has not felt shy even to cheat the passengers. Railway minister shouted that he had not increased the fare, but the fact is that he has picked the pocket of passengers under other charges. Let me explain one such picking of pocket. A passenger reserving seat/berth is now charged a minimum of Rs. 15 extra if he is not boarding the train from the same station. I have to pay Rs. 15 more for return journey reservation from Agra to New Delhi. For Shatabdi and Rajdhani this amount is more. How many people are making such reservation, add and see the figure. Railway minister did not shout about it. It is nothing but cheating.
Has the Railway Minister talked about safety, punctuality, quality of on-board services, safe food, cleanliness, and any other aspect of interest to passengers? Sometime back, a panel appointed by Delhi High Court visited Railway kitchens at New Delhi, Old Delhi and Hazrat Nizamuddin stations. The members were shocked. Kitchens were full of rats and cockroaches.
Recently a consumer court has asked railways to improve services. including platform conditions and toilets. The court requested Railway minister to spare some amount out of the widely publicized profits of hundreds of crores by the railways on improving the plight of commuters. The court further said that railway platforms are in very bad condition, toilets are stinking, there are no benches for passengers to sit while waiting for hours on platforms, and there is utter chaos.... sanitary conditions are bad and coaches are pathetic.
From passenger point of view, Indian Railways is the worst service provider in India.