Rly call centres in 3 cities

The railways would open its call centres in Bangalore, Delhi and Patna simultaneously in November, minister of state for railways R Velu said on Sunday.

The state-of-the-art call centres would give the public access to information on train timings and reservations, besides providing other services, Velu told reporters.

Railway officials said the information can be accessed round-the-clock through a single telephone number.

Velu also said that the railways proposed to augment the production of coaches and wheels to overcome the shortage caused by introduction of several new trains.

Currently, he said, there was a shortage of 50,000 wheels a year and "we do not propose to import them".

The railways therefore would "incrementally add" to the present production in its plants at bangalore and durgapur. "We are trying to ensure that the shortfall is made good before the end of this financial year", Velu said. He said gauge conversion work covering 140 kms, costing Rs 350 crore in Karnataka, would be completed by March next year. Earlier, inaugurating a computerised reservation counter, he said the railways had introduced a pilot project for reservation through mobile phones in delhi and it would be replicated in other metros, depending on its success. Velu also said the railways had introduced e-procurement and e-tendering to ensure that "interference of mafias" in awarding of contracts and purchases was minimal.