- Have a proper notification system: We have some existing mechanism, but it’s not centralized by any means. How hard is it to develop a system to send an automated message (SMS) to confirmed passengers about the current status of their trains? The flights have it!! The system is available; we just need to incorporate it in Indian Railways. As far as the cost is concerned, include it in the fare itself. People who want to be notified (like me) will have to pay extra (say 10-15 Rs.) per journey. Infact, Indian Railways can try to make it into a profitable venture. Who will benefit: Customer (people will be well informed to make alternate arrangements in case of any delay / cancellation), Messaging companies (Telecom service providers – they can even publish their ads along with the message or sell ad space to other companies), Indian Railways (customer satisfaction will increase, they can even make profits just by charging the customers for the notification). Let’s take an example: Assume 10 million people travel on long distance trains ever day (lowest case scenario), we can safely assume around 5% (5 Lacs) will avail this service per day – which is 150 lacs per month. The per-month costing will hardly go beyond Rs. 75 lac (including the one-time messaging server cost distributed over a period of time and monthly maintenance cost) which comes to less than Rs. 0.5 per person. Even if the Indian Railways charge Rs. 1 / person extra for this service, their profit per month will be around Rs. 75 lac – quite profitable I must say!!
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