Central Railway and Western Railway officials met with the State Government on Tuesday to discuss the adoption of a colour-coded QR coded ticketing system in line with the announcement of staggered office timings for those working in public and private sectors. Railway officials said that commuters will be provided with time slots, allowing passengers to travel only between the time slot allotted to them.
Officials further added that each time slot will be assigned a colour and can also be displayed on the QR code within the ticket or travel pass. The idea for colour coding has been inspired by similar work done by Kolkata Metro.
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A senior official who was present at the meeting said, “We have asked for the implementation of staggered office timings to reduce crowding inside local train compartments. Colour-coded QR systems can be introduced for the operation of all local trains. We have recommended the same to the state government. It could be helpful once trains resume for the general public.”
However, officials are also aware that this cannot be implemented on a large scale given the limitations with regard to enforcement. The government is expected to ask some sectors that have flexible timings to stretch working hours for their employees. Such sectors could be given priority for travel on public transport.
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“We discussed the staggering of working hours to keep crowding at railway stations in check. However, the question remains unanswered about the enforcing authority. It is very difficult to monitor the timings even if we try to regulate them,” an official from Mantralaya was quoted as saying by HT.
“Even though we issue the standard operating procedures (SOPs) or guidelines for various sectors, there is no monitoring to see if they are followed. Currently, we have allowed 30% of staff in private offices, but many firms are compelling more staff members to report to the office. The government does not have the machinery to enforce the guidelines,” the official added.
Separately, Western Railway said that it will increase its local train services from 506 to 700 so as to reduce crowding. This will also include 10 AC locals, said Sumit Thakur, Chief Public Relations Officer, WR.
Additionally, Central Railway is expected to add 247 new local trains which should take the total number of CR trains to 700. Currently, around 453 trains are believed to be running on CR lines.
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