Lok Sabha Question No. 3855 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2019-12-11
Subject: Upgradation of Facilities
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Kunhalikutty P.K.

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA

## MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 3855 TO BE ANSWERED ON 11.12.2019

## UPGRADATION OF FACILITIES

3855. SHRI P.K. KUNHALIKUTTY:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

(a) the details of new initiatives being taken for quantum jump in the matter of new trains and upgradation of services and facilities; and (b) the plans in this regard for the next four years?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS AND COMMERCE & INDUSTRY

## (SHRI PIYUSH GOYAL)

- (a)  and  (b)  In    its    constant  and  continuous  endeavour  to  provide improved facilities  and amenities to the  travelling passengers, Indian Railways (IR), inter alia, has undertaken the following:-
1.  Introduction  of  266  new  services  during  2018-19  and  110  new services during the current financial year upto 30 th  November, 2019.
2.  Proliferation  of  Linke  Hofmann  Busch (LHB)  coaches  over  IR system, for enhanced safety and better travelling experience. As on 30th November, 2019, 487 pairs of trains are being operated with LHB coaches.
3. Introduction of Train-set Vande Bharat services features like quick acceleration, etc. Presently, Vande Bharat Express are being operated

on the New Delhi - Varanasi and New Delhi- Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra sectors. 4. Introduction of various premium train services like Humsafar, Tejas, Antyodaya,  Utkrisht Double  Decker  Air-conditioned Yatri  (UDAY), Mahamana and coaches like Deen Dayalu and Anubhuti, which have upgraded interiors/exteriors and improved passenger amenities. 5.  Launching of Project Utkrisht in order to improve the condition of Integral  Coach  Factory  (ICF)  type  coaches  running  in  Mail  /  Express trains.  Up-gradation  of  640  rakes  of  Mail  /  Express  trains  has  been taken  up  under  Project  Utkrisht  for  improvement  in  patronized  train services.  Work  in  more  than  250  rakes  has  already  been  completed under Project Utkrisht. 6.  Induction  of  Five  smart  coaches  with  ultra  modern  features  like Smart Public address and passenger information system, Smart HVAC (Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning system), Smart security and surveillance  system  etc.  have  also  been  manufactured  by  Modern Coach Factory / Rae Bareli in train service. 7. With respect to ticketing, the online and offline ticketing facilities have  been  continuously  diversified,  augmented  and  proliferated  to provide  services  in  a  transparent,  accountable  and  user  -friendly manner. Streamlining of Computerised Passenger Reservation System has been done to improve passenger convenience. Initiatives like SMS based Alerts have been introduced to disseminate timely information to passengers  in  the event  of booking, cancellation, status up gradation, delay etc. At Railway stations, various passenger facilities/ amenities  like,  lifts,  escalators,  toilets,  battery  operated  vehicles, wheel  chairs,  waiting  rooms,  Foot  over  Bridge  etc.  are  extended  to more and more stations.

8. Up-gradation of passenger amenities at railway stations under the Adarsh Station Scheme.  1253  stations have been  identified for development by 2019-20. In addition to the above, the following initiatives have been taken by Indian Railways to upgrade catering services in trains:i)  Indian  Railways  Catering  and  Tourism  Corporation  (IRCTC)  has installed  CCTV  cameras  in  the  kitchens  under  its  management.  Live streaming is available in these kitchens on IRCTC's website and RailDrishti  portal  of  Railways  (https://www.raildrishti.in).  This  enables close  and  live  monitoring  of  the  activities  in  the  kitchens  both  by officials and the public. ii) IRCTC has enabled Quick Response (QR) codes to be pasted on food casseroles at 27 Kitchens which enable passengers to get the direct link  to  CCTV  images  of  the  kitchen  where  food  is  prepared  and packed. Details of the contents and quantities of the meals and date of packaging can also be seen by the passenger. This also enables close monitoring of the kitchens. iii)  IRCTC  has  upgraded  46  existing  Kitchen  Units  during  the  last  02 years. iv)  Provision of E-Catering services in trains through branded players such as Dominoes, etc is being progressively increased. v) Hand sanitizers have been introduced on Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Duronto trains. vi) Certification from Designated Food Safety Officers of each Kitchen Unit has been made mandatory. vii)  Each  train  provided  with  pantry  car  is  manned  by  IRCTC's supervisors who monitor services and take feedback from passengers and  take  appropriate  corrective  action.  In  premium  trains,  catering

supervisors  have  been  provided  with  tablets  for  obtaining  feedback from passengers. viii) Food samples are randomly collected by Food Safety Officers/Supervisors and are sent to the nominated accredited Laboratories  under  Food  Safety  &  Standard  Act  for  analysis  and testing. ix)  Food Safety Supervisors of IRCTC have been deployed at Kitchen Units. x)  Third  Party  Audits  are  mandated  in  the  Catering  Policy  and  are being carried out by NABCB  (National Accreditation Board for Certification Bodies) accredited agencies. xi)  Customer satisfaction  surveys are conducted through Third Party Agencies. xii)  Regular  and  surprise  inspections  are  conducted  by  Railway officials including Food Safety Officers. xiii)  To  prevent  overcharging,  5078  hand  held  Point  of  sale  (POS) machines have been provided on 703 rakes of 420 pairs of trains so as to generate printed bill and invoice reflecting all details of transactions under taken at catering units. xiv) A robust system for passenger feedback and complaints exists for redressal  through  dedicated  centralized  Catering  Service  Monitoring Cell (CSMC) toll free number 1800-111-321, Rail Madad, Twitter handle, CPGRAMS, E-Mail and SMS based complaints. xv)  Setting  up  of  production  units,  with  adequate  facilities,  and upgradation of the existing ones. xvi) Efforts to bring in new service providers from amongst the quality players in the Food and Beverages (F&B) industry. Furthermore,  the  major  initiatives  taken  by  Indian  Railways  towards improvement  of  cleanliness  include  integrated  mechanized  cleaning contracts  for  major  stations  including  cleanliness  of  toilets,  rag picking and garbage disposal contracts, increasing provision of dustbins, mechanized cleaning of coaches at terminals and on-board housekeeping service(OBHs) in important trains. 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 instill healthy competition  for  improvements.  With  a  view  to  enhance  cleanliness, Indian Railways has proliferated bio-toilets on its coaching stocks so that no human waste is discharged from coaches on the track. *****