Coming soon: Luggage trolleys

Senior citizens and women passengers travelling on the Indian Railways will soon be able to book luggage trolleys in advance by calling up a designated telephone number.

Senior citizens and women passengers travelling on the Indian Railways will soon be able to book luggage trolleys in advance by calling up a designated telephone number. Once they arrive at the station,a uniformed Rail Yatri Sevak,holding a placard with the trolley number,will provide them the service for a price. The facility will also be available without advance booking.

In line with Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee’s Rail Budget announcement,the Railway Ministry is all set to introduce modern luggage trolleys at important stations across the country. However,in true Banerjee style,the pilot project for this facility has been sanctioned for Howrah and Sealdah railway stations in her home state West Bengal.

Under the project,the State Bank of India is being roped in to provide the trolleys and engage the Rail Yatri Sevaks. These Sevaks will be entitled to charge a fixed amount as trolley charges directly from the passengers. The zonal railways will decide the trolley charges taking into account the local conditions of an area and will also ensure that the charges are prominently displayed at the platforms.

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In return,the SBI will get exclusive rights to use the trolleys for advertising. But that comes with the rider that SBI will advertise only about itself and no other ads will be permitted. Also,the SBI will allowed to outsource the maintenance and management of the trolleys to a third party. The Indian Railways,however,will depute supervisors on the platforms to monitor the facility round-the-clock.

The Rail Yatri Sevak engaged by the SBI will wear a prescribed uniform and will carry an identity card and a badge. For the trolleys that are booked in advance on phone,a specific Rail Yatri Sevak will be assigned to handle the passenger who booked the service.

On the platform,the Rail Yatri Sevaks will hold a placard displaying the trolley number to help passengers identify the assigned trolley. Passengers booking this service in advance will have to furnish their PNR details for verification.

The Railways will also set up a separate counter at the platforms to enable passengers to avail this service when they arrive at the station.

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