improving railway services

Honarable Shri Suresh Prabhu,

I have a few suggestions to make to see that the railways offer better services. These are as under:

1. Just as we have the senior citizens get preference for Lower Berths, Pregnant Ladies & Temporarily disabled people like fractured leg should be given preferential treatment for lower berths. Such Passengers should get medical certificates from their gynac / orthopedic doctors.

2. Group Booking should be allowed for Tourists / Marriage groups in one compartment together. At Least 6 - 8 passengers in a group should get berths together, 2 / 3 on either side in 2 / 3 tier and 2 on sides  .They should carry a proof to show that they all are together for a reason. Railways can charge Rs. 30 / per passenger for group booking

3. Four compartments ( 2 each in 2 tier & 3 tier sleeper coaches  ) should have a provision for choosing your seats / berths. Railways may charge extra Rs. 50 - 100 / 100 – 200 on flexi time charge basis for 3 tier / 2 tier seats or berths booked on preferential basis.

4.  Wi - Fi  Seva should be given on the go. Railways may charge Rs. 50 for use up to 4 hours, Rs. 80 for use up to 8 hours and Rs. 100 for use beyond 8 hours. These should be paid while booking tickets on line. Rail - Pay can be developed by Railways like PayTM for making payments after boarding the train also. The rail pay can be used for ticket booking on line or through mobile application also.. The same app can be used for purchase of local tickets / passes in metro cities for travel by local / metros.

5. Railways should increase the fares in the range of 5 – 15 % for 2^nd and 1^st class passenger / express / super fast trains every 2 -3 years, and not once in a decade  or so. Similarly it should levy fuel / power surcharge of 2 -5  %  on 1^st class passengers for express and super fast trains.

6. Food Quality needs improvements. I have observed that same menu is served on Rajdhani / Shatabdi / Duranto day - in & day - out for years together. Passengers should be given option for food of their choice, served hot. Railways may charge extra money for this special service.  

The first suggestion is a welfare measure so no extra charges should be levied, whereas Railways should charge extra money for some additional service provided by the Railways. This would help generate additional revenue. The money so generated can be used for improving infrastructure / Safety / Signaling Systems etc.

Shri Jawdekar errs

Today I saw on TV gruesome killing of Neel Gais in Bihar. The order to do so was approved by Environment Minister Shri Jawdekar in response to a request from the state government. It might be as per provisions of Law, so what. Could the state and the center have come out with some other measure ? Certainly yes, in my opinion.

These animals could have been captured and transfer ed to other national sanctuaries where they could have lead a peaceful life till they fell pray to the big cat family or sent to some zoos. I can not see why this could not have been done. The logic and rationale of killing is beyond my comprehension. 

Animal Protectionists, if consulted, might have come out with some more practical solutions.

It appears to be a decision taken in haste, certainly.

Shivaji Maharaj on Currency Notes

Recently a message about it spread like wild fire on mobile networks. Apparently it was a signature campaign of sorts generated by RBI. Every Maharashtrian  took pride in forwarding this message further to garner more and more support. However there was a query questioning the merit or demerit of this campaign. Let me make an attempt to put my perspective on this issue.

Initially our currency notes carried King George photos till independence. Why the ashok sthamba replaced the king George photo has a rationale and a solid reason, and it does not need any explanation.

But, How Gandhi replaced Ashoka Sthamba is a big question. At Least Ahok Sthamba was and still is the symbol of RBI. So logically there was no harm in continuing with it.

RBI must have, certainly under the influence of Congress Ruled Government in that period , brought about this change and replaced the ashoka sthamba by Gandhi's photo. There is no certainty about who christened Gandi as Father of the Nation.

No doubt he stands tall in the list of freedom fighters and other Indians, but certainly he is not the only one.  B R Ambedkar, Bal Gangadhar Tilak, Subhash Chandra Bose, Ravindra Nath Tagore, Maharana Pratap, Chatrapati Shivaji Maharaj, Jawahar Lal Nehru, Shaheed Bhagat Singh, Chandra Shekhar Azad, Veer Savarkar , Maulana Azad, Guru Gobind Singh, Sant Tukaram & Sant Dyasneshwar etc are few names from a endless list of individuals who played equal roles in the History of India.

So I strongly feel that they all should have been given their due respect and recognition by all, including the RBI. It will be apt and appropriate to commemorate these Indians, recognize their selfless contribution and show respect. Commemoration acts as a reminder to a common citizen.

It would have therefore been befitting if the RBI had set up a committee to formulate a policy about printing currency notes with their photos, much like the postal department does to commemorate these People, and continue with currency notes with Ahok Stambh as a regular currency.

There is always a danger of denigration, misuse show of disrespect of the currency notes , Statues, Road Signs in their names, but then there is a system to take punitive action against miscreants. We should not stop doing certain things just for the fear of such wrongdoings. That in my opinion is cowardice.

After all lord krishna says " karmanye wa Dhikaraste Ma phaleshu Kadachanam  ".

It is altogether a different issue that the RBI has now deferred its decision. But certainly the time has come now to stop eulogizing M K Gandhi alone.

Open Letter to Shri Nitin Gadkari

The Pune  - Mumbai Express way is a death trap of sorts. Government has been doing many things of late, but still it is missing on smaller and simpler but effective means to curb accidents.

It is known that the lane discipline is not at all followed in the country so how can we talk about it for this road. But looking at the number of deaths on such expressways certain things can certainly be done as under:

The heavy vehicles should be limited to left most section of the road. You can put height barricades at certain intervals on the right side , install CC TV cameras at various locations, at least on the accident prone section of the ghat on the road and put heavy penalty to begin with followed by temporary or permanent cancellation of driver license or owner's permit depending on number of violations.

I tell you this will give you immediate results.

Similarly the lighting in the tunnels is anything but satisfactory. Combination of LED & Sodium Vapor Lights and increased number will help in a great way. Similarly the internal walls on the tunnels should be painted with white fluorescent paint and there should be curbing with lights on each side like you see on the runways at airport.

Again these are simple and doable things.

I am a retired professional project engineer and i am ready to help the ministry in improving safety of roads throughout the country, free of cost if my travel and stay is taken care off. choice is yours.

This letter is sent today on his e mail id: nitin.gadkari@nic.in

Letter to the Railway Ministry

Dear Shri A K Mittal
Chairman & Ex-Officio Principal Secretary

Ministry of Railways

After a long time i have some hopes about rejuvenation in Railways.   There is lot of scope for improvement in many areas. I take this opportunity to list out few suggestions to improve the overall condition of railways and also to improve the systems:

Toilets:

The Toilets on all trains need to be changed at the earliest, if we are really serious about Cleanliness, Health & Hygiene in Trains / Stations and in the country. Please do not give this base less defensive argument that you do not have the money. If that was the case then how come we are talking about Bullet Trains? And still if you do not have money put a surcharge or cess on Railway tickets as per the class of travel for a period of say 2 years or 3 years. Review it and extend if required after coming out with a white paper about collection and actual spending, which can be challenged under RTI.

You can also plan a simpler and cheaper option for general and 3 tier compartments. Provide automatic door locking system which locks the doors of toilets for 5 kms before and after the stations. You can provide manual over ride from inside, in case someone is stuck up. Alternatively you can make provision to collect waste under the bogies with auto opening / closing of a suitable shutter plate which closes / opens before and after certain KMs from the station.

Train Reservation:

First and foremost the reservation lead period should be reduced from 4 months to two months. I do not think it is helping the real passengers any which way.

There should be a possibility for group booking. It is observed Most of the times that the group gets a scattered booking and thus they are never together.

Alternatively Railway can design compartments which can have two half compartments of 30 - 32 berths each for a 3 tier compartment and 20 - 22 berths for a 2 tier compartment. So at any time these could be assigned to 2 groups separatgely, or can be thrown open in case there is no group booking. The railway could charge extra money for such exclusive booking.

For on Line booking the railways should certainly come out with the option of seat / berth selection left to the passengers, much like it is available for air lines, Pvt Buses, Cinemas etc.

Railways should have a couple of 3 tier bogies and at least one bogie exclusively kept for quotas for various stations on route, and also for VIP quotas. Then it will be possible to implement the berth selection rights to the passengers.

For On - Line Bookings, Make it mandatory to provide any of the Photo IDs like the PAN Card Number / Voter ID / Adhar Card Number to avoid agents getting away with major bookings. In fact the system should demand the number and uploading of the card to have a better leak proof system. Keeping separate time slots might not be serving the intended purpose. For Off Line Bookings the booking clerk should ask for the ID proof and up load on the system. The ticket should also get print out of the id proof. Railways can consult some experts and come out with a foolproof solution.

Speed Of Existing Trains:

I would also like to request the ministry to first take up the task of increasing the speed of existing trains by about 30 % or so. It may call for some investments in improving the condition of railway lines. So be it. But that should be taken on pripority. The travel time can easily be reduced by an hour or two in a 600 - 800 kms travel.

Similarly Laying of 2 Lines on long distances should be taken on priority. Lot of time is wasted because of single line between many stations.

General:

Number of bogies should be increased by opting for a higher capacity / power engine. We may have to increase the platform length to ensure that the full train gets a platform.

Electrification should be completed on all major routes.

All Level Crossings should be replaced with flyovers or subways, as required.

Special 2 tier bogies should be designed and included on all major routes to suit senior citizens. The upper berth could be designed with a suitable ladder where senior citizens could climb easily. The  lower berths should be automatically assigned to citizens above certain age and the upper berths could be assigned to other senior citizens. A few berths should be designed and assigned to specially able persons. At Least one toilet in such compartments should also be designed accordingly.

The railway stations / platforms / special train compartment should also be designed to ensure that such specially able citizens are comfortable throughout the journey. 

Swatch Bharat - Kitna Swatch aaur Kitna Sach

They say "statistics don't lie, even though these may tell only half the truth ". So, it would have been really nice if the government had come out with some numbers showing the achievements against the targets on various factors such as:

Toilets:

Total number of schools, Number of Toilets planned in schools and toilets built?

How many schools, out of the above list, have segregated toilets for males - females?

How many of these and the old ones are in operation and how many of these do have water?

How many of these and the old ones are being regularly maintained?

Potable Drinking Water:

How many schools have safe drinking water facility?

How many schools have clean hand wash facility with toilet soaps - liquid soap?

General Hygiene:

How many schools have solid and liquid waste management systems?

How many schools are given a lime coat every two years at least?

Same set of Questions should be addressed for villages in the country, Tier I & Tier II towns - cities and also the urban cities.

Such a paper or a report card will clearly show the ground reality and also tell us if the government means business or not?

In fact I had written to the PMO about achieving this mammoth goal in set time line - that is 2 nd October of 2019. I had suggested then that every member of the Ruling Coalition should spend time and their allotted yearly MP fund only on these above mentioned swatch bharat activities. Seeing this either the other parties will also be forced to toe the line or they will fall apart and get exposed about their intentions.

I saw the swatch bharat awards ceremony initiated by the India Today Group. I would like to suggest the PM that he should ask the States rules by BJP and alliance groups to announce such schemes at Gram Pachayat - Municipal Corporation levels and interstate levels to recognize the efforts of citizens - corporates in following categories:

Swatch Village in at the Gram Panchayat Level

Swatch Village in the District

Swatch Village in the State

Swatch Tier I & Tier II towns & Cities

Swatch Municipal Corporation

Swatchtam Place in the State

Swatch Government Run School at each of the above levels

Swatch Private School at each of the above levels

Swatchtam School in the state

Swatchtam Tourist destination in the state

Swatchtam Historical Monument in the State

Swatchtam Bus Stand in the State

Swatchtam Railway Station in the State

Swatchtam State among the BJP - Alliance ruled States

We could add many more categories. Each Award should have a Prize Money of Rs. 1.0 Lac & a citation. Such winners should get more allocation of funds for development of roads - infrastructure in their area.

I am sure this will not only have a multiplier effect but will also spread awareness amongst the citizens certainly. This will also show to the nation that the BJP is a different party with a definite vision. The other states will be forced to follow these measures or fall by the way side and get exposed.

Reference Number is : PMOPG/E/2015/0119159

How are you different, Sir ?

I had lots of hope when I felt that there will be a CHANGE in Thinking and approach after the new Government was sworn in. I always felt that a CHANGE brings in freshness and rejuvenating energy to the whole system. The complacency will not breathe, at least for some time. Humility will override arrogance etc etc. 

But it appears that the new dispensation - that is the BJP is no different than the old one - the Congress. Every one appears to be either thinking of retaining the Chair or Grabbing it again. Certainly the stakes appear to have become humongous and highly disproportionate. That is the reason Good Governance has taken a back seat. This will be the case before every small or big election now. That is what was Policy Paralysis was during UPA regime too. 

Otherwise, how can anyone explain the logic of  the total and abysmally low priority given by the government for situations arising out of Draught and Flood, Rising Prices, GST, Labour Reform etc.

Take for instance the Rising Prices of essential commodities like Onions and Certain pulses like Arahar Daal. Did this government dot know about shortfalls in rains this year? Why was action delayed so much to first allow the prices to sky - rocket, thereby allowing  certain sections to make huge money?

Then, again take the issue of Drought and Farmer Suicide. Was it something new that the government was caught unaware ? why Government did not come out with some proactive action plan, well in time and immediately after the met department announced that there will be huge short fall in monsoon.

There should have been a short term and a long term action plan immediately after this government took over from Congress, Be there any rains or no rains. Government is only serious about drip irrigation. What about the Insurance against Losses in agriculture? The Compensations have been increased, but have these reached the concerned? What about giving subsidies in seeds ? If the answers to these were positive, then how on earth the Deaths continue to take place. Why then  blame it on sex - love related matters?

If this government had shown positive results on these two counts - Rains / Drought and Price Rise, then that would have shown to the nation that this government is different, pro poor. The Jan Dhan Yojana, Insurance Cover against accidents and the Pension Scheme are good efforts but it would have been great if the government had shown same kind of ZEAL and Enthusiasm to tackle this Yearly Crisis of Rain / Drought.

There are many such issues. Yes, Growth is a Must, Job Creation too is important but then these issues affect the daily lives of large sections of our society and the government cannot and should not ignore these at all.

Is anyone in the government thinking about it seriously? Let it be known to the nation Loud & Clear.

What happened to the report card you talked about, from each of the ministry? Sir, the time is running out thick and fast. The aam janata is sick of this logic now that you have been in power for 18 months only? You have raised the bar of expectations so you must answer now. Is it not good enough time to show that you are on right path?

Reference Number is : PMOPG/E/2015/0096013 dtd 13.09.2015