Mumbai: Commuters on the Western Railway (WR) will soon have a single-point access to all railway-related information. The WR is planning to install interactive information screens across stations on the Mumbai Division.
“We have found that commuters often have to stand in queue to ask for basic information such as train timings, cancellation rules, and fares. The screens will have all such information available,” a railway official said.
Every station will have at least one screen, and large stations might have up to four. “The screens will be placed in booking offices and reservation centres as these are the places where commuters first come to when they have any query. The screens will be operated on voice-based commands as there is a risk of vandalism with touch-based technology,” an official said.
Commuters can access basic information about ticket booking, cancellation and refund rules, fares across classes of tickets, and train time table for local and outstation trains. The screens will also provide station-specific information, which is included in the WR’s DISHA mobile application, such as the location of the station master’s office, ATMs, closest bus stops, and other amenities.
Officials said some of the information is already in place on maps which have been installed at major stations, but the screen will have everything in one place. The information will be available in English, Hindi, Marathi and Gujarati.
This is yet another initiative by the Railways to increase their non-fare revenue as the screens will display advertisements when they are not being used. The WR will be floating tenders for 80 screens this week for a period of five years and are expecting to roll out the initiative by December.
