Our Bureau

Thiruvananthapuram , April 26

THE Thiruvananthapuram Division of the Southern Railway is planning to introduce a Centralised Integrated Enquiry System (call centre) which, when completed, will provide information on trains on the move on a real time basis.

Announcing this to newspersons here, Dr G. Narayanan, Divisional Manager, and Ms Sujatha Jayaraj, Additional Manager, said that the centralised system would be linked to other passenger information systems for updated information.

The call centre would deal with all telephonic enquiries seeking passenger-related information. Customers across the entire division need dial 139 (BSNL) to get connected.

To be set up in Thiruvananthapuram, the call centre will provide information on accommodation availability, train arrival and departure and real-time movement status. All existing enquiry systems will be integrated under this system.

The project has been approved and trials have started. It is expected to go `live' during the next three-to-four months.

Also on the anvil is a mobile Passenger Reservation System (PRS) working on wireless technology, which is being tried for the first time in the country. This is expected to facilitate the opening of more PRS counters at non-railhead locations such as the hill-bound Idukki district. This will also come in handy while dealing with the need of setting up emergency reservation counters on special occasions such as the Sabarimala festival.

Another new initiative is the Unreserved Ticketing System (UTS) that bristles with features such as return journey tickets and issue of tickets from as early as three days in advance. The system will be gradually migrated onto a microprocessor-based programme.

The new system will be installed at Thiruvananthapuram Central, Kollam, Chengannur, Alappuzha, Kottayam, Ernakulam Junction, Ernakulam Town, Aluva, Thrissur, Guruvayur, Kayankulam and Nagercoil.

The UTS will lead to reduction in the queue lengths at the counters and enable advance planning of the unreserved journey. Tickets will be issued from any station to any other under this dispensation, which would also allow Railways to plan extra trains and coaches as per trend of sales registered in the system.

Proposed amenity works include commissioning of a second entry at Ernakulam South and extension of platforms; new station buildings at Piravom Road and Mavelikkara and raising of platforms at Thrissur, Ernakulam South, Ernakulam North and Nagercoil. Platform ticket vending machines will be provided at Kottayam, Nagercoil, Ernakulam Town, Thiruvalla and Mavelikkara.

A number of changes in the timetable have been proposed with effect from July this year. Accordingly, the Ernakulam-Bangalore City Weekly Express, now running as a special, will run on a regular basis.

The bi-weekly Thiruvananthapuram-Bangalore Maveli Express will be converted to a tri-weekly service. The Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai Egmore Ananthapuri Express will henceforth run on all days. The 6041/6042 Chennai Central-Alappuzha Express will run as a Superfast Express.

In order to meet the demands of commuters between Shoranur and Ernakulam, the Division has already made proposals for running Mainline Electric Multiple Units (MEMUs) in lieu of conventional services.

The capacity to accommodate commuters in larger numbers apart, MEMU will help bring about savings in time for acceleration and deceleration and overall improvement in running time.

It is also proposed to suitably alter timings of the Mumbai-Kanyakumari Express from Thiruvananthapuram Central in advance of the incoming Vanchinad and Intercity Expresses to cater to persistent commuter demands. .

Depending on passenger demand, special trains will be operated in the Thiruvananthapuram-Bangalore section.

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