Station names may begin with 'Mumbai' for online reservation

Those unfamiliar with Mumbai trying to book tickets online often slip up due to the confusion caused by terminus names that sometimes give no telltale sign that they denote stations in Mumbai. Their grouses have prompted railway authorities to learn some search engine optimisation and streamline terminus names on the Web.

Online chaos: Stations like Bandra and Lokmanya Tilak terminus, Kurla are currently not prefixed with 'Mumbai' making it confusing for passengers

The authorities have now written to the Railway Board, asking that names of popular terminuses be modified online to begin with the city's name to help travellers avoid mix-ups.

After a recent meet of railway authorities, Central Railway general manager Subodh Jain said, "I discussed with senior officials the confusion over terminal names in Mumbai. I have sent them a proposal to modify the names that show up on Internet search and on the scrolls and plates announcing long-distance trains, so they start with ‘Mumbai'."

Online only
The projected changes in terminal names are restricted to the Internet, and will not be made at the railway stations. So the names will only show up prefixed with ‘Mumbai' in online searches and on the scrolls on trains.

Once the terminal names are thus rationalised, LTT would be prefixed by the city's name to read Mumbai Lokmanya Tilak Terminus during online railway enquiries and bookings. The same goes for Dadar, Borivli, Bandra and Thane.

"Thousands of passengers, new to the city, get confused while filling the ‘from' and ‘to' sections while booking tickets online. When they type in Mumbai, several terminuses like LTT are not suggested by the pop-up predictions," said an official from the Central Railway. The modifier ‘Mumbai' will help these commuters key in the terminus they want to alight at.

Needless to say, passengers are pleased with the proposed changes. Aakash Shrimali, who works as a sales executive in Sandhurst Road, said, "Many times we don't find the train terminals we are looking for online, because of the confusion created by their names. I shifted to Mumbai only last year, and the upgraded names will help me find the right trains and terminals." u00a0