Railways' train delay SMS alert service now on 1,400 trains
This New Year, the Railways is extending its train delay SMS alert of over an hour to 1,400 trains. Till now, this service was available only for premium trains like Rajdhani and Shatabdi, but now superfast and express trains will have it too. It was also limited to passengers at the departure station, but will now be available for travelers boarding at any station.
All about the SMS alert service for premium trains
Railways started the SMS alert service for delays over an hour on November 3. By December 7, it had sent 33L messages to Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Tejas and Gatiman passengers. The benefits were mutual: passengers could avoid waiting long hours at the station, and authorities could keep stations decongested. Other passengers get alerts if their train gets rescheduled, cancelled or delayed by over three hours.
Here's how to access the free SMS alert service
Developed by the Railways IT arm, the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS), the service is completely free for passengers; the Railways bears the cost of the SMSes. All passengers need to do is mention their phone number while booking the ticket.
Railways roping in ISRO for real-time updates to passengers
Railways is planning to start a real-time train tracking mechanism. It will be used to update passengers about developments in real time. For this, a tracking chip will be fixed on all trains. The project is expected to be completed by December'18. For this, ISRO will be roped in. The Railways is also planning to run standardized 22-coach trains.
