19 June,2011 07:54 AM IST | | Vedika Chaubey
Whether it's a complaint about the AC or the food, central railway passengers can expect immediate redressal, say officials
If you have a complaint against the quality of the food, the air conditioning or even the price of your samosa served in a long distance Central Railway train, all you have to do is send a text message to mobile phone number 9004411111 and the Central Railway promises to get back to your complaint by the next stop itself.
Previously available for the Mumbai division trains since 2009, the helpline number will now be available for all CR trains. However, the number can not be called. All the local and long distance trains that come under the jurisdiction of CR will fall under this service.
What's interesting is that these complaints will be directly monitored by the General Manager CR, Kul Bhushan, say railway officials. "If a commuter makes any complaint regarding, say, the air conditioning, the AC will be repaired at the next station itself. If there is a serious problem or wasn't repaired immediately, then the concerned officer will be answerable," a CR official told MiD DAY.
Since the complaint system was started by the CR in 2009, nearly 25,000 text messages have been registered till date. Public Relation Officer, CR, A K Singh said, "This is a good initiative and was initially available only for Mumbai division passengers. Now other passengers can also avail of this benefit."
How the helpline works
The helpline number server has been connected with all division heads, which will enable them to access and note down the problem. What's more, besides maintainance issues, all types of complaints will be dealt with, including that food found to be of bad quality, train not being proper, or even, the caterer charging exorbitant rates.
"This time, the GM will monitor the text messages to ensure that the division heads work hard to solve the passenger's concerns," added Singh. Railway passengers greeted this news with interest, but expressed doubts on whether itu00a0 would be as effective as the officials say it would.
There have many complaints, said passengers, that have gone unnoticed by the authorities before. Some haven't been forwarded to the right authorities either. Abhishek Singh recently had a bad experience in a north-bound train. "The linen that we were given was stinking and we could see that it had not been washed for weeks. We complained to the attendant and asked him to give us new linen, but he refused, saying it was not his responsibility," he said.
Singh was travelling to Varanasi last month. "I really wonder how an SMS would help," he said. The Central Railway (CR) is the oldest railway zone of Indian Railways. This is one amongst the largest of the 16 zones bifurcated by Indian Railways. Central Railway also boasts of the first passenger railway line in India that connected Bombay with Thane.
Railway helpline numbers
24-hour helpline number (Railway Protection Force control number handles emergencies) 22620800
24x7 helpline for women: 22755555 and 6745 5555
For obscene graffiti or any type of suggestions and complaints, send an SMS to Central Railway helpline number 9004411111 or the Western Railway helpline number 9004477777. The SMS feedback system is attended to everyday, but not on real-time basis.
