All the passenger-friendly changes Railways brought in May
What's the story
The Indian Railways is on a mission to do the best it can. In just the last month, it has introduced a range of changes to make the whole experience smoother for passengers.
In May, it gave new 'smart coaches,' introduced parties on platforms, and made online ticketing much easier.
It has many more plans for the immediate future too. Here's a roundup.
Smart coaches
New 'smart-coaches' for real-time monitoring of train and track health
Arguably the most impactful change came when the Railways unveiled 'smart coaches,' which come fitted with black boxes, like in aircraft.
The real-time monitoring system will constantly integrate inputs from CCTV cameras and coach diagnostics system. Talk about technology!
But it's not just about trains; wireless sensor modes fitted on wheels will also help monitor health of tracks.
The aim is to prevent accidents.
Waiting
You can now know chances of confirmation for waiting tickets
IRCTC has introduced the 'wait-list prediction' tool, based on mining of 13 years of Railways' data.
If you get a ticket on waiting, it'll tell you, during booking, your chances of getting a confirmed seat.
Waitlisted passengers can go for the Railways' Vikalp scheme to up chances of getting a confirmed berth.
You can also check availability of berths on IRCTC without logging in.
Parties
Lack space for parties? Use railway platforms now
The Railways has now started allowing parties on empty platforms. The Vadodara division became the first to do so, letting people organize birthday parties, receptions, exhibitions and other social gatherings.
Currently, Makarpura, Vishvamitri, Bajva and Ankleshwar railway stations are available for parties.
Apart from helping the public, another aim was to generate revenue from deserted and otherwise unused platforms.
Benches
Railways comes up with intriguing idea to sponsor platform benches
Further, Railways has come up with a unique idea to sponsor benches on platforms: to encourage local MPs to contribute, those who fund one bench will get their names etched on two.
The idea was reportedly floated by PM Narendra Modi, who himself has pledged Rs. 40L for 900 benches in his constituency's stations.
Do you know?
Amitabh Bachchan roped in for railway safety awareness campaign
In the meantime, Central Railways has roped in megastar Amitabh Bachchan to be the face of their awareness campaign on safety. He has started shooting for a short film that gives several important messages. Other such films with Naseeruddin Shah have already been released.
Plans
So what's next for Railways?
Among Railways' next plans is installing condom and sanitary-pad kiosks both inside and outside stations to promote good health.
Select stations will get rainfall prediction radars, so officials can take steps to ensure no waterlogging on tracks.
Coaches of 140 rakes on 132 routes will get a Rajdhani-like makeover.
The Railways is also looking to increase average speed of passenger trains by 25kmph.