Indian Railways will extend its SMS alerts for departure delays of over an hour starting January 3, covering around 1,400 trains that will include premium, super-fast and express trains. So far, these alerts were only sent to passengers of premium trains like Rajdhani and Shatabdi and were also restricted to people who boarded the train at the departure station. Now, alerts will be sent to travellers boarding at halt stations all along the route.
A senior Railways officer said, “The idea was to inform passengers in advance about trains running behind schedule so they don’t have to wait for long hours at railway stations. It will also help passengers to plan their arrival.”
Started in November 2017, the Railways sent out over 33 lakh SMSes to passengers between November 3 and December 7. Passengers have to mention their mobile numbers while booking their tickets to avail this service.
For improving the tracking of trains, the Railways has tied up with ISRO (Indian Space Research Organisation) for Real-Time Train Information System. This system will help to track trains on a real-time basis as well as to circulate running information to passengers.
