Thiruvananthapuram: The Thiruvananthapuram division of Southern Railway has decided to engage Kudumbashree to enhance passenger service quality at parking and the waiting hall. The divisional railway users consultative meeting chaired by the divisional manager Prakash Butani decided to work in close association with civil society groups to improve service quality and management.
Kudumbashree is already managing the air-conditioned waiting halls at Ernakulam Jn and Ernakulam Town. This model will be tried at Kollam and Thrissur shortly. For the first time, the women's self-help group is running the vegetarian refreshment room at Chengannur during Sabarimala season. Kollam will soon get free Wi-Fi connectivity while Chengannur and Nagercoil will have escalators within a month. Automatic water vending machines will be installed at 17 stations at Rs 5 per litre.
"This will help reduce bottled water usage," Mr Butani informed the meeting. The division had so far replaced 60 km of tracks as compared to 58 km last year. In the coming days, the Railways will give more emphasis on helplines. Already an email ID seniordcmtvc@gmail.com has been introduced for the purpose. It can be used for confirmation of emergency tickets by providing a scanned copy of ID proof. An exclusive women helpline No 9567869385 has also been introduced for lady passengers.
