RAIL MADAD
A one stop App for complaints
and grievances in Indian Railways
The train
journey – Often preferred by most of the people still hesitated by few due to
the issues and problems which they may face during their journey. Not everyone
has the guts to become AMBI of Anniyan Film to complain in person. But we
cannot rule out the Ambis who are within us especially when we come across the
stinky toilets and the unhygienic compartments in train. We may not have the
power and courage of Anniyan when we see the ladies being harassed in front of
us.
But all that
we have known is to pull the chain to stop the train. And this has helped many
a passengers over the period. Pulling the chain and shouting at the TTE is the
Ambi's way of doing the things. As the Ambi has transformed to Anniyan to find
a solution for problems he face, the physical mode of complaint system has
transformed in to the digital mode. And on a lighter note, don’t ask me about
the role of “Remo” as this is an out of syllabus topic :D
The Indian
railways – Largest rail network in Asia and second largest in the world under single
management (Source: IndianRailways.gov.in ), has been taking constant
initiatives to ensure the safe travel of the passengers. Right from the oldest
form of Chain, then to complaint note / book / register – The complaint and
safety mechanism has seen a tremendous change over the period of time.
We are in
the period where people expect everything to be done in digital mode especially
via app. Indian railways in my view, always adaptable to the advancements. In its
recent updation, the Indian Railways has launched a mobile app by the name
“RAIL MADAD” . This mobile app aims to be the one stop solution for all the
passenger grievances during their train journey.
I will share the details of
the app in the upcoming sections as a step-wise procedure for easy
understanding.
Step-1:
Download and install the RAIL MADAD app from the Google play store through the
below link:
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.yashtechnology.services.arailmadadf
I am not
sure about the availability of this app for iPhone users , I will update it
once I get an update on this. Install the app and register your profile.
Step-2:
Open
the app and choose the desired option
from the home screen. The options are as follows:
i) Register
my complaint for train :
Choose this option if you want to complain about the services
in / about the train
ii) Register
my complaint for station:Choose this option if you want to complain about the
railway station.
iii) Helpline
numbers: Choose this option if you want to view the helpline numbers to lodge
complaint over phone.
Step -3: Registering Complaint:
Select
the nature of complaint in the home screen as “Register my complaint for train”(or)
“Register my complaint for station”.
We need to type the PNR number / Train
number / platform ticket number for which the complaint to be lodged.
For
complaints about train, we can lodge complaint under below mentioned 15
categories:
1) Pest and
Rodent Complaint
2) Allotment
of seats-berths by train staff
3) Bedroll
Complaints
4) Bribery
and corruption
5) Catering
and Vending Services
6) Complaint
against the staff
7)
Maintenance/Cleanliness of coaches
8)
Malfunctioning of Electrical Equipment and A.C.
9)
Non-availability of Water
10) Problem
of touts/Middle man
11)
Punctuality of Train
12) Thefts /
Pilferages
13) Unauthorized
passengers in coaches
14)
Complaints related to Sleeper Class
15)
Complaint against Train or Railway Protection.
For
complaints about station, we can lodge complaint under below mentioned 20
categories:
1) Bribery
and corruption
2)
Cleanliness at Station
3) Complaint
against the staff
4) Long
queue at Booking office
5)
Malfunctioning of Electrical Equipment and A.C.
6) Misc.
Cause
7) Non-availability
of Water
8)
Parcels/Luggage
9) Passenger
Booking
10) Problems
of Touts / Middlemen
11) Refund
of Tickets
12)
Reservation issues
13) Retiring
Room
14) Signal
& Telecommunication
15) Theft /
Pilferages
16) Traffic
Jam at Station circulating area
17) Water
logging at station
18) Working
of enquiry offices
19) Water
Booths
20)
Complaint against railway protection force (RPF) station
Step-4:
After choosing the category, the sub-category
has to be chosen. Incident date, details, name and contact number has to be
filled. Once all the details are filled, we can add a picture (optional) and submit
the same.
Step - 5:
Once
the complaint is submitted, unique complaint ID will be generated and the
complaint will be transferred to the concerned official immediately for instant
action. The updates regarding the complaints will be communicated via SMS.
The Indian
Railways has integrated the complaints received in all the modes with this
single app based complaint system. Means, the other modes of complaint (Which is
explained in the next part of this post)
are still accepted alongside this app based complaint redressal system.
Other modes of Complaints:
1)
Telephonic
Complaints:
We can dial the below numbers based on the nature of complaints and
lodge the complaint over phone.
Railway
Helpline Numbers:
i) Medical
Helpline:138
ii) PNR: 139
iii) RPF
Helpline: 182
iv) Child
Helpline: 1098
v) Train Accident
Helpline: 1072
vi) Women's
Helpline: 1091
vii)
Vigilance HelpIine: 155210
viii) Clean
My Coach: 58888
ix) Catering
Complaint: 1800111321
2)
Complaints through Twitter:
Indian Railways is having different Twitter handles for
different zones. Each such Twitter handle is very much active and responsive to
our queries / complaints.
There may be instances of delayed response /
no-response. Still, in my personal experience, they are responding instantly.
Raising a Complaint / query is as simple as posting a WhatsApp / FB status.
All
we have to do is to post the query / Complaint in Twitter by tagging the
Twitter ID / Handles of Indian Railways.
The list of Twitter Handles are shared below:
List of TWITTER IDs
/ HANDLES of Indian Railways (For Chennai)
Common ID / Handle for all issues: @RailwaySeva
-----> General & service related issues <-----
- GM of Southern Railways: @GMSRailway
- For Service Deficiencies (Chennai Helpline): @MAS_138
- Divisional Railway Manager, Chennai: @Drmchennai
- Divisional Railway Manager, Salem : @SalemDRM
- Divisional Railway Manager, Madurai : @drmmadurai
- Divisional Railway Manager, Trichy : @Drmtpj
- Senior Divisional Mechanical Engineer, Chennai: @srdme_mas
-----> Emergency Security Relayed Issues (RPF) <-----
- RPF
Southern Railway: @rpfsrly
- RPF Chennai: @rpfsrmas
- RPF Tambaram: @rpftambaram
- RPF salem: @rpfsrsa
- RPF Katpadi: @rpfkatpadi
- RPF Jolarpettai: @rpfjolarpettai
- RPF Madurai: @rpfsrmdu
This RailMadad app seems to be the easier mode when compared
with the other two modes and it was clarified by the railways that all the
modes of complaining will be effective and gradually, it will be shifted to the
only mode of Complaint ie. Through this App.
Conclusion: This is a wonderful initiative, aims at ensuring
the safety of the train passengers in just a click of the app! Do share it with
your friends and relatives and lets make every smart phone users use this app
during their train journey.
