Lok Sabha Question No. 333 (STARRED), answered on 2019-12-11
Subject: Facilities for Passengers
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Mansukhbhai Dhanjibhai Vasava

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

LOK SABHA STARRED QUESTION NO. 333 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2019

## FACILITIES FOR PASSENGERS

†*333. SHRI MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

(a) whether  the  Government  has  finalised  any  action  plan  to  increase consumer satisfaction especially in the field of security, safety, punctuality and cleanliness during the current financial year;

(b)   if so, the details thereof; and

(c)   whether  any  task  force has been constituted to prepare any plan in this direction and if so, the details thereof?

MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

ANSWER (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

(a) to (c): A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.

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STATEMENT  REFERRED  IN  REPLY  TO  PARTS  (a)  TO  (c)  OF  STARRED QUESTION NO. 333 BY SHRI MANSUKHBHAI DHANJIBHAI VASAVA TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 11.12.2019 REGARDING FACILITIES FOR PASSENGERS (a)  to  (c):  Indian  Railways  is  committed  to  provide  secure,  safe  and comfortable journey to all its passengers. Provision of security, safety and other facilities to passengers is a continuous process and every endeavour  is  made  to  ensure  these  to  railway  passengers.  Following steps are taken for security of passengers by Railways:On vulnerable and identified routes/sections, 2200 trains (on an average) are escorted by Railway Protection Force (RPF) daily in addition to 2200 trains  escorted  by  Government  Railway  Police  (GRP)  of  different  States daily. Surveillance is kept through Close Circuit Television  (CCTV) cameras, provided at about 501 stations over Indian Railways to ensure safety and security of passengers. Efforts will be undertaken to cover all railway  stations  by  Video  Surveillance  System  expeditiously.  Security Help  Line  number  182  is  operational  over  Indian  Railways  for  security related  assistance  to  passengers  in  distress.  An  Integrated  Security System  (ISS)  consisting  of  surveillance  of  vulnerable  stations  through CCTV  Camera  Network,  Access  Control  etc.  has  been  sanctioned  to improve surveillance mechanism over 202 railway stations.  Anti sabotage checks are undertaken with sniffer dogs at all major stations as well as in trains. Baggage scanners,  Door Frame Metal Detectors (DFMD) and Hand Held Metal Detectors (HHMD) are being used for screening passenger and their  baggages.  Close  liaison  is  made  by  the  Railways  with  the  State Police/GRP  authorities,  Central  &  State  Intelligence  agencies  and  Civil authorities  at  all  levels  for  prevention  and  detection  of  crime  and maintenance of law & order in Railway premises as well as on running trains.  2019 coaches have been provided with Video Surveillance System till  date.  Efforts  will  be  made  to  cover  7020  coaches  of  premium  and suburban trains by CCTVs expeditiously. Construction of about 3000 Km boundary  wall  has  been  sanctioned  and  will  be  constructed  in  phased manner for providing better access control.  Station Security Plan is under process of formulation and implementation in 202 stations covered under ISS in phased manner for better access control and seamless deployment of security agencies.  A Pilot Project for biometric queue management in unreserved coaches of major long distance trains has been implemented successfully in Lucknow, Gorakhpur and Churchgate.  Massive drives are being conducted over Railways against touting of railway tickets in which 3511  persons  were  arrested  and  2100  persons  prosecuted  during  the period from January, 2019 to October, 2019. Recruitment of  4078 and 298 lady constables and Sub-Inspectors respectively in RPF has been completed increasing the percentage of women in RPF from existing 3% to  9%,  which  will  go  a  long  way  in  enhancing  security  of  women passengers.    Efforts  are  being  made  to  use  technology  to  increase  the reach and effectiveness of RPF in the field of security and assistance to passengers.

Measures/steps taken to enhance safety over Indian Railways

Safety is accorded the highest priority by Indian Railways and all possible steps are undertaken on a continuous basis to prevent accidents and to enhance  safety.  These  include  timely  replacement  of  over-aged  assets, adoption  of  suitable  technologies  for  upgradation  and  maintenance  of track,  rolling  stock,  signaling  and  interlocking  systems,  safety  drives, greater emphasis on training of officials and safety inspections at regular intervals  to  monitor  and  educate  staff  for  observance  of  safe  practices. Preventive and predictive maintenance of the Railway assets is undertaken to ensure train operation. Safety devices/systems being used to  prevent  accidents  include  Electronics  Interlocking,  track  circuiting, provision  of  Block  Proving  Axle  Counters,  Colour  Light  Emitting  Diode (LED)  Signals,  Train  Protection  and  Warning  System,  Vigilance  Control Device,  Fog  Pass  Device,  usage  of  52  kg/60kg,  90  or  higher  Ultimate Tensile Strength (UTS) rails and pre-stressed Concrete, Sleepers, use of Ultrasonic Flaw Detection of rails and welds at predefined periodicity to track geometry  is  carried  out  to  detect  defects  and  plan  maintenance.  Steel Channel  Sleepers    on  girder  bridges  are  being  used  while  carrying  out primary track renewals. Further, it  has  been  decided  to  lay  Thick  webs switches, Weldable Cast Maganese Steel crossings on identified routes. Progressive use of  Linke Hofmann Busch Coaches, use of Centre Buffer Couplers  with  Integral  Coach  Factory  Coaches,  etc.  Railway  tracks  are replaced on age-cum-condition basis through track renewal works which is an ongoing process. Other measures include training of loco pilots and other  safety  category  staff,  improvement  of  their  working  conditions including  proper  rest  and  periodic  medical  examination  etc.  Besides, patrolling  of  tracks,  footplate  inspections  and  safety  reviews  at  various levels, etc. are regularly conducted to continuously monitor and improve

detect internal flaws in rails/welds. Electronic monitoring of safety aspects of the Indian Railways. In addition, passengers can dial helpline No. 139 for safety related issues as well. Measures/steps taken for punctual running of trains over Indian Railways Punctual running of trains is a focus area of activity for Indian Railways. Punctuality of passenger carrying trains is being monitored rigorously on a  daily  basis  at  Divisional,  Zonal  and  Railway  Board  levels  by  Divisional Railway  Managers  (DRM),  General  Managers  (GM)  and  Railway  Board Members and senior officers. To ensure right time running of these trains when pairing trains are running late, scratch rakes are inducted and rakes are standardized to the extent operationally feasible. Also various steps have  been  initiated  to  improve  punctuality  such  as  prioritization  of preventive  maintenance  of  assets  to  minimize  asset  failures,  capacity enhancement project by construction of additional loop lines at stations, doubling, construction of third line corridors, automatic signaling, construction  of  limited  height  subways  to  replace  level  crossing  Road Under Bridges (RUB) and Road Over Bridges (ROB) etc.

Besides,  punctuality  drives  are  launched  from  time  to  time  and  staff involved  in  train  operations  are  sensitized.    In  addition,  Zonal  Railways have also been advised to have better coordination with Civil and Police authorities of States to deal with situations arising out of law and order problems.  During  the  current  year,  the  punctuality  of  Mail  and  Express trains has been 75.70%, which is 7.51% higher than the previous year.

- Measures/steps taken for cleanliness over Indian Railways Cleanliness is a continuous process and every endeavour is made to keep the railway stations and passenger carrying trains in properly maintained and  clean  condition.  Some  of  the  major  initiatives  taken  by  Indian Railways towards improvement of cleanliness of stations and trains are as follows: i.  Introduction of mechanised cleaning at around 950 stations, award of rag picking and garbage disposal contracts at stations. ii.   Concrete  washable  aprons  on  platform  tracks  provided  to  facilitate clearing of night soil on platform lines by washing with water jets. iii.  Provision of clean and hygienic toilets, including pay and use toilets at stations. iv.  Use  of  CCTVs  has  been  extended  for  monitoring  of  cleanliness

activities at 388 major stations.

v.  Indian  Railways  has  proliferated  bio-toilets  on  its  coaching  stock  so that no human waste is discharged from coaches on to the track. Nearly 230,000 bio-toilets have been fitted on around 64,000 coaches. vi.  Cleaning of coaches, including toilets of trains, is done at both ends, including mechanized cleaning. vii.  On Board Housekeeping Service (OBHS) has been provided in nearly 1090 pairs of trains including Rajdhani,  Shatabdi and other important long distance Mail/Express trains for cleaning of coach toilets, doorway, aisles and passenger compartments during the run of the trains. viii. 'Coach Mitra' service has been provided in around 1050 pairs of OBHS trains as a single window interface to register coach related requirements of passengers such as cleaning, disinfestation train lighting. air conditioning and watering of coaches. ix. Clean Train Station (CTS) scheme has also been prescribed for limited mechanized  cleaning  attention  to  identified  trains  including  cleaning  of toilets  during  their  scheduled  stoppages  enroute  at  nominated  stations. 39 CTS stations are operational. x.   Pest  and  rodent  control  of  coaches  is  being  done  on  a  regular  basis through authorised professional agencies. xi. Earlier, dustbins were provided in AC Coaches only. Now, provision of dustbin is also being done in Non-AC coaches. xii. Mechanised laundries have been set up at 64 locations across Indian Railways to provide clean and hygienic bedrolls to the AC passengers in trains. xiii.  Regular  checks  are  conducted  at  officers/supervisors  levels  and corrective action is taken wherever any deficiency is noticed. xiv.  Enforcement  of  Indian  Railway  (Penalties  for  activities  affecting cleanliness at railway premises) Rules, 2012 intensified.

xv.  Standard Bid Document (SBD) and General Conditions of Contract for Services (GCCS) have been issued to improve effectiveness of housekeeping /Cleaning contracts. xvi. Cleanliness drives and awareness campaigns are also conducted from time to time. xvii.  Third  party  audit  cum  survey  on  cleanliness  of  major  stations  and trains is also being carried out to get status check feedback and also to install healthy competition for improvement. ****