CHENNAI: Train travellers have lodged around 7,500 complaints through social media platforms like Twitter and Facebook to get the attention of the Southern railway authorities to resolve their complaints during train travel.
This is 10 % of the total 75, 613 complaints/enquiries handled by the zonal railway from April 1 last year till Monday, revealed the official note released by the railways on Monday. Last year, the SR handled 31,450 complaints/inquiries.
Incidentally, over 61% of the complaints have been received through passenger helpline 139, 21% through RailMadad website (railmadad.gov.in, railmadad.in), 5% through RailMadad app and the remaining 3% through other means like SMS to 139, e-mail and other channels.
The top six complaints are related to coach cleanliness, coach maintenance, water availability (at toilets and wash basin), electrical equipment failure, punctuality and security. “All the complaints received by the railways have been resolved. We have been achieving 100% complaint disposal rate since 2019-20 and also maintaining 37 minutes as the average disposal time for complaints since April 2021,” said the official note.
Abdul Hameed, Member of the Divisional Rail Users Consultative Committee (DRUCC), Chennai division said, “A large number of passengers still prefer lodging complaints through a helpline (139) because of convenience. However, complaints lodged through social media get addressed immediately compared to other channels, as the official directly responsible for the issue is being notified,”
The railways should put a mechanism to ensure that water shortage and cleanliness complaints in toilets are resolved permanently, added Hameed. The southern railway’s first response time (FTR) for medical and security assistance is 8 minutes. “The FTR is an indicator of efficiency in handling complaints during emergencies. We ensure that needy passengers get timely support wherever required,” explained the official.
The complaints, suggestions and requests received through multiple channels including the website, RailMadad app, SMS, social media and helpline number (139) are channelized through RailMadad, a single unified customer interface for grievance, enquiry, suggestion and assistance for better coordination and speedy disposal of complaints, said the release.