Stating that the Western Railway’s main focus is on renovating and modernizing the existing railway stations under the Amrit Bharat Station Scheme, Chief Public Relations Officer (CPRO) of Western Railway (WR), Vineet Abhishek said that they have taken up various projects worth Rs 2,206 Crore not only to refurbish the stations, but also provide better amenities to the passengers.
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“The plans include renovating stations by giving them a new aesthetic look by integrating both sides of the town and enhancing multiple amenities that are currently available for the passengers. While some projects have already been completed, the work on others is on. We are sure that with the completion of pending projects, the difference will be visible,” Abhishek said during his visit to the Free Press Journal office on Friday. He interacted with the staff as part of the FPJ Dialogue.
The Amrit Bharat Station Scheme intends to upgrade and modernize a total of 1,275 stations across the Indian Railway system. It involves creating master plans and executing them in phases to enhance various station facilities. These enhancements encompass bettering station accessibility, waiting areas, toilet facilities, lift and escalator installations as needed, cleanliness, offering free Wi-Fi, setting up kiosks for local products through initiatives like 'One Station One Product', enhancing passenger information systems, establishing executive lounges, incorporating landscaping, and catering to the unique requirements of each station.
Explaining further about other passenger-centric initiatives being taken by the WR on its suburban as well as mail/express train network, Abhishek said, “Improving public address system for direct communication between the motorman, guard and passengers is on the cards. It will help people to get hands-on information regarding delays or disruptions, if any, particularly during monsoon. Our senior officials have been asked to follow a schedule wherein every official has to travel at night in one section not as a passenger, but to inspect the available facilities. This is part of enhancing our night vigil and arrest ticketless travels. The officials can’t give any excuses and have to follow the schedule which is to ensure that a proper system is in place and they (the officials) are privy to the passengers’ problems.”
“Last year, we had collected a fine of Rs 90 Crore from the people travelling without ticket and the number is on rise. Our efforts under ‘Mera Ticket, Mera Imaan’ concept seem to have borne the fruits. Formation of ‘Be Alert TTS Manning at Night’ (BATMAN) squad has also been successful since people assumed that there will be no checking in the night and tend to travel without ticket, but with BATMAN squad they live under the fear of getting caught and tend to purchase the tickets,” Abhishek added.
When asked if commencement of Metro 3 and Bullet train projects will have any impact on passenger movement, particularly in AC locals, Abhishek replied in the negative and said the clientele for Bullet train is different since it will be mainly used by those who prefer to travel by flight. “So, it will not have much impact on the passenger movement on WR. The commencement of Metro 3 will also have a little impact on WR mainly due to the affordability factor. On a monthly AC local pass, you can travel many times in a day, but you have to swipe metrocard each time you take the services,” he quipped.
Abhishek also laid stress on the importance of Gati Shakti Cargo Terminals (GCT) on Mumbai- Dahanu, Dahani-Surat and Surat-Jalgaon divisions of WR since revenue from freight plays an important role in the economics of WR. On a query if the proposed Dedicated Freight Corridor (DFC) will have any impact on the cargo movement, Abhishek said GCT is not part of DFC since the idea behind DFC is to create a different path for passenger trains so that efficiency of both, cargo as well as passenger movement, is improved.
