Panel wants special rail coaches for foreigners

Another key recommendation that the PAC has made is the introduction of specially designed luxury coaches exclusively meant for foreign travellers. The idea is to get special luxury coaches manufactured and attach them with normal mail/express trains.

With cases of alarm chain pulling having been identified as a major cause of train delays,the PAC also wants the concept to be re-examined. “Why do we still require an ancient system like this to stop a train? Why can’t there be a communication system that can be used to ask the engine driver to stop the train in an emergency?” Shuvaprassana said.

The PAC has also recommended that the website of the Indian Railways should be designed in the form of a single window for all kinds of information. “The interface,too,needs to be improved upon to provide vital information such as amenities available,phone numbers,STD codes,location map,geographical coordinates,nearest tourist spots and historical significance (if any) of the place hyperlinked to stations,” the PAC stated.

Arguing that the Railways,as a critical service provider of mass transportation,should be more accountable to its users,the committee said the website should have a link to a unified complaint registry for the Indian Railways. This system should allow users to register complaints and track its status using a unique ID,the committee said.