WR Initiates Coolie No. 1 At Bandra, Mumbai Central - Here's All You Need To Know

In a unique initiative by Western Railway (WR)’s Mumbai Division, aiming to mutually benefit Licensed Sahayaks and esteemed passengers, initiative named “Coolie No. 1” has been started. Licensed Sahayaks play an integral part in the railway system in India and add an important value in the overall train travel experience of long-distance passengers.

According to a press release issued by the Public Relations Dept. of Western Railway, the newly launched “Coolie No. 1” initiative by the Mumbai Division in its due course attempts to achieve several key points such as imparting training o­n fire fighting, emergency response like Cardio Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR), passenger and luggage safety, personality development of Sahayaks and enabling positive interaction with customers, better responsiveness to the needs of passengers, adherence to fair and behavioural norms set by the Railways, Digital Inclusion like imparting awareness about Digital Payments, maintaining biometric data of Licensed Sahayaks and engage them into Swachhata Hi Seva Abhiyaan by creating awareness to keep station & premises clean and participation in cleaning activities.

The initiative was launched as a pilot experiment at Surat Station, by Ganesh Jadhav, Commercial Inspector (CMI), Surat o­n October 11, which is coincidently the birth date of legendary actor Amitabh Bachchan who played the role of a Rail Sahayak in his iconic 1983 flick “Coolie”. Since the successful pilot experiment at Surat station, the initiative has now expanded to include Licensed Sahayaks at Mumbai Central and Bandra Terminus Stations.

Under this initiative, a survey is conducted where willing passengers are requested to fill out a feedback form after utilizing the services of a Licensed Sahayak. The feedback form fills in details such as Buckle No. Rating, Service, etc. of the Sahayak, among other details. Based o­n the data collected from these feedback forms, o­ne Sahayak is selected and certified as “Coolie No. 1 of the Month”. Additionally, in the event of any negative remarks, the administration issues a warning or takes corrective action as well. Mumbai Division plans to carry out multiple voluntary training programs and counselling sessions for Licensed Sahayaks to make the travel & interaction experience of passengers better.