Date:18/07/2007 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2007/07/18/stories/2007071860770300.htm
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New Delhi

New train enquiry system launched

Staff Reporter

Photo: V. Sudershan

New Deal: Railway Minister Lalu Prasad flanked by Ministers of State R. Velu (left) and Naranbhai Rathwa (right) making the first call to inaugurate the Integrated Train Enquiry System (ITES) at ‘Rail Sampark’ in New Delhi on Tuesday.

NEW DELHI: A state-of-the-art system for providing details related to trains was inaugurated by Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad here on Tuesday.

To be referred to as “Rail Sampark” facility, the Integrated Train Enquiry System (ITES) can be accessed by dialling 139. The facility is a public-private initiative between Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited (IRCTC) and Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), informed Mr. Yadav.

The ITES will have four information hubs at Noida, Chennai, Kolkata and Mumbai for North, South, East and West, respectively.

Elaborating on the new system, IRCTC Managing Director Naveen Singhal said agents would be located at call centres and all manual responses would be handled there. He added that the basic enquiry services provided by ITES would include current train running position (arrival, departure, and delays), PNR status for reservation, availability of reserved accommodation and fare enquiry.

There are also plans to introduce some other services including SMS alerts, call-back facility and fax messages besides value added services like railway reservation, car rental and booking of tourism products.

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