Panel slams Railways over poor amenities

Slamming the Railways for neglecting the task of passenger amenities, a parliamentary standing committee has recommended the setting up of a separate department to cater specifically to the task.

Slamming the Railways for neglecting the task of passenger amenities, a parliamentary standing committee has recommended the setting up of a separate department to cater specifically to the task.

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Cleanliness at stations and in trains is “far from satisfactory” and a mere 29 of the total of 8241 stations across the country have been identified as ‘Clean Train Stations’.

The Railways had envisaged On-Board House Keeping Services (OBHS) in all Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Duranto and mail trains. But the committee was ‘constrained to note’ that out of the 596 identified pairs of trains, this scheme was operational in only 385 pairs of trains.

Regarding e-ticketing initiatives, the committee said the IRCTC website was “very slow” and asked the Railways to take steps to upgrade its capacity.