01 January,2011 07:00 AM IST | | Vedika Chaubey
Central Railway appoints facilitators to issue tickets from ATV machines from today
THIS will be a New Year's gift that central railway commuters will cherish starting today.
Central Railways plan to appoint a facilitator, who will help you book a ticket in 3 minutes flat saving precious time for harried commuters.
The facilitators will be Railway's employees and the service is a new year gift to the passengers of Central Railway
Z A Siddiqui, Chief Commercial Manager, CR, said, "We are starting this service from the very first day of the year. This is a new year's gift to the passengers of Central Railways."
The facilitator will be a railway employee who will be authorised to sell tickets only before and after his duty hours.
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Every facilitator will be allotted an ATV machine and will have to issue tickets to passengers approaching him/her. They will have to purchase their own smart card, which they can refill as per their convenience.
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"We have decided to keep a maximum waiting period of just 3 minutes. Also, the facilitators will be given large identity cards so that passengers standing in the queue can identify and approach them easily," said Siddiqui.
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Details about the facilitators will be displayed at the railway stations. The facilitators will work on weekends and bank holidays. They will also man the ATVMs before and after their duty hours and during peak hours.
"The CR authorities had asked for applications from interested railway employees.
Over two hundred employees applied for the job, of which 129 people have been selected for 129 ATV machines. They will be given Rs 5 for every Rs 100.
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The passengers will be issued tickets at cost price only. Precautions has been taken to avoid manipulation," said Siddiqui. All the ATVMs would be connected to a database, which would be continuously monitored.
The facilitators, who are group III employees, have been given a choice to select an ATV machine at a station most convenient to them.
Each of the 129 facilitators has been allotted a different machine, which will be monitored on a regular basis.
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"They cannot leave from work to sell tickets full time. In case the facilitator is not performing his/her duties, s/he will be removed from the job in the very next review," said an official.
The railway authorities have also asked the railway board for permission to appoint retired railway employees to do this job on a fulltime basis.
"People with disability were also considered for this job but owing to disagreements with disability groups, the idea was scrapped," a railway official informed.
129
Number of ATVMs that will offer the facility from Jan 1
