PATNA: Railways have chalked out an ambitious plan to link the Patna call centre (139) with all other states, particularly of the eastern region, to cater to the needs of people. The people belonging to Bihar, Jharkhand, West Bengal, Assam and Orissa could avail of the benefits of this project either by the end of this month or in January next year on the railway inquiry number 139, said Danapur DRM B D Garg. According to Garg, railways have already linked other northern and southern regions with their respective call centres with an aim to provide an integrated information about train inquiry system at the country level. Linking of the Patna call centre with other states of the eastern region will help passengers know any kind of information about train journey plan in advance, he said. The DRM said this facility would be a part of railways' efforts to improve further passenger amenities as well as put them on par with the facilities being provided to passengers taking journey by flights. The Patna call centre has been currently fulfilling the needs of people of Bihar only, disseminating information about those trains either originating from or passing through East Central Railway (ECR). Thus, linking of the Patna call centre with entire eastern region states would provide a lot of relief to people belonging to these states, he said, adding this project is being completed on priority basis under the direct supervision of Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd (IRCTC). According to an IRCTC official, railways intend to provide berth confirmation information to passenger through SMS service. At present, passengers have to call on the number 139 to know confirmation of their berths. Under the new system the call centre will automatically inform passengers about the status of their reservation through SMS service. Besides, the Patna call centre is also being equipped to provide information related to taxi and hotel booking to interested passengers, he said, adding this new system is first being introduced at the Delhi call centre. Installed at a cost of Rs 45 lakh in November 2004, the Patna call centre has been now linked with the computerised control system of train movements. Under this system, the passengers could get details of the arriving trains on the platforms as well as the name of the station a train is passing through. This facility will benefit those who do not want to wait for a train on the platform, sources said. The Patna call centre has been receiving about 70,000 calls per day related to inquiry about train movements, journey plan, PNR status, cancellation of tickets and accommodation availability. A railway official said while it is a local charge for each call landing at the call centre within a range of 50 km, it is about Re 1 only per minute for each call from a further distance. The call centre has been generating about Rs 1.5 lakh as revenue to railways per month. However, its linking with entire eastern region states will increase its earnings, sources said. Railways have outsourced the Patna call centre operations to a reputed agency. Over a dozen trained persons, including girls, man the call centre round the clock, sources said.
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