Railways concierge will get you cabs, porters

NEW DELHI: Passengers can book cab and porter at his destination station before the train arrives at that station through railways online 'concierge services'. The facility, which can be availed as a combo of both cab and porter or only cab services, is at present available at 22 stations, including Tirupati, Mumbai, New Delhi, Patna, Howrah and Mysore.

Travellers can also do online booking for wheel chair and stretcher services for elderly or sick people. The concierge services aimed at facilitating last-mile connectivity to passengers and tourists by arranging a taxi for dropping the passenger to his residence or hotel is one among the slew of initiatives taken by railways after BJP government took charge.

The transporter has also launched e-catering services in select trains to begin with. The plan is to integrate the best food chains in the country into e-catering services so that train passengers have the option to place online order for food at the time they are booking tickets.

Money not an issue for reviving railways, Suresh Prabhu says:
Depending on the response from customers, the facility will be extended to cover more trains. In an interview to TOI, railways minister Suresh Prabhu said, "This year, substantial improvement in passenger amenities is planned. I have asked MPs to put money for improving facilities and also CSR money. We have already started e-catering. For quality food, more base kitchens would be set up."

He said that more base laundries would also be set up for clean linen and bedrolls, adding that a new separate department for cleaning has been set up. As part of its initiatives to make rail travel more enjoyable, railways has roped in National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) for designing of bed rolls, linens and curtains used in train coaches.

Railway stations to be child-friendly :

Aimed at changing ambience of railway stations and decor of carriages, the transporter has joined hands with the National Institute of Design (NID) to redesign coach interior, pantry car, and seating arrangements at platforms and waiting halls. NID will also design the ladder for upper berths, lighting arrangements at stations and circulating areas to give an aesthetic touch to rail facilities.

Passengers can now have a sound sleep without worrying about missing their station as the railways has launched a new service for a "wake-up call" on their mobile phones half-an-hour before the scheduled arrival at their destination.

Modi favours modernization of railway stations :

A 'train destination alarm call' — has also been introduced through which passengers will get an alert call 30 minutes before the train reaches their destination station.