Special focus is being given to making available as many berths and seats as possible to meet the demand through optimal utilisation of...
Special focus is being given to making available as many berths and seats as possible to meet the demand through optimal utilisation of resources
Hyderabad: In order to cater to the rush of passengers in view of Sabarimalai pilgrimage and Sankranti festival during the month of January, the South Central Railway has taken several steps to smoothly handle the passenger traffic. Special focus is being given to make available as many berths and seats as possible to meet the demand through optimal utilisation of resources.
As many as 133 special trains have so far been announced to be run to and fro on SCR in the month of January. These include 63 Sabarimalai specials from Kollam to various stations including Kacheguda, Hyderabad, Machilipatnam, Kakinada, Narsapur, Vijayawada and Sirpur Kagaznagar. In addition, 70 special trains are also being run to meet the Sankranti festival rush during January.
These include 30 special trains on Secunderabad-Viskhapatnam sector; four special trains on Secunderabad-Kakinada sector; six special trains on Secunderabad-Machilipatnam sector; eight special trains on Secunderabad-Vijayawada sector; eight special trains on Visakhapatnam-Tirupati sector; 12 Special trains on Guntur-Visakhapatnam sector and two Jan Sadharan special trains on Tirupati-Narsapur sector. Based on an analysis of passenger traffic demand profile, SCR has been regularly augmenting the composition of several trains with the addition of extra coaches on a temporary basis.
Around 23,000 additional berths/seats have been made available to the public reservation system (PRS) for January. The waiting list position in various classes of express trains on popular routes is being closely monitored by senior officials daily and extra coaches are being attached to trains with long waitlist within the resources. Through improved operational and maintenance practices, the availability of coaches for passenger services has been maximised.
Additional ticket booking counters will be opened during peak hours to ease out queues. Passengers can utilise the Automatic Ticket Vending Machines (ATVMs) for getting platform/MMTS/unreserved tickets at all MMTS stations in twin cities. Enquiry system at major stations will be strengthened by posting more number of staff. Passengers can meet their enquiry needs from the touch screen kiosks, Passenger Operated Enquiry Terminals (POETs) and LED Passenger Guidance Boards available at all stations and through railway official websites / apps and also from 139 call centre. For any security related assistance, passengers can call on the 24x7 security helpline-1322.
Additional staff from RPF and commercial branches will be deployed on station premises to assist and regulate the crowds whenever needed. Officers and senior supervisors will be deputed to closely monitor the traffic flow and for appropriate immediate intervention. Ticket checking activities will be intensified to prevent ticketless travel and also to avoid inconvenience to bona-fide passengers.
