RailMadad portal: Indian Railways (IR) is planning several changes to the RailMadad portal to improve the way passenger complaints are categorised, assigned and resolved. The changes were discussed during a video conference held by the Railway Board (RB) with officials of Zonal Railways and the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) on September 7.

Why It Matters

Launched in 2019, the Rail Madad is a grievance redressal mechanism that provides train passengers with an integrated platform to raise complaints, seek assistance and make inquiries.

During the meeting, the officials raised several issues faced while handling passenger grievances and suggested measures to improve the system.

According to the Minutes of VC meeting, the proposed changes cover a range of issues, including train water complaints, Vande Bharat food-related complaints, complaint categorisation, duplicate complaints, feedback through OTPs, linen services and complaints involving rescheduled trains.

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Train water complaints

One of the issues discussed was the way watering-related complaints are currently assigned. Officials from Southern Railway pointed out that complaints about watering are sometimes attributed to the primary depot of the running train or the division where watering is being carried out, rather than to the previous watering points of the running trains.

The Railway Board said CRIS may develop a mechanism to ensure that such complaints are lodged against the previous watering point. This would help identify the station responsible for complaints generation.

Eastern Railway also highlighted another issue involving water-related complaints. In some cases, divisional control offices change a complaint category on RailMadad from “Water Availability” to “Coach Maintenance”. According to the meeting minutes, such unnecessary changes can increase the time taken to resolve the complaint and make it difficult to identify the actual deficiency.

Zonal Railways have therefore been asked to monitor the process and ensure that complaints remain under the prescribed category unless a change is genuinely required.

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Vande Bharat food complaints

A specific issue involving Vande Bharat trains was also discussed. Passengers sometimes register complaints about food leftovers in the seating areas of Vande Bharat trains against the Zonal Railways instead of the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC).

Officials pointed out that in such cases, complaints relating to services provided by IRCTC may not be attended to or closed by the appropriate IRCTC officials. It has been decided that CRIS, IRCTC and the Railway Board’s concerned directorate may examine the issue and develop a framework to ensure that such complaints are handled by the appropriate agency.

On Board Housekeeping Services (OBHS)

Another concern relates to complaints from passengers travelling on trains without On Board Housekeeping Services (OBHS). At present, some such complaints are assigned to the division that attends to the passenger’s complaint. This can make the division providing the immediate assistance accountable even when the original deficiency belongs to another division.

In the meeting, it has been decided that CRIS may examine the issue and develop a system that assigns the complaint to the division actually responsible for the deficiency while ensuring timely assistance to the passenger.

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OTP feedback problem

The meeting also discussed the existing OTP/link-based system used to obtain passenger feedback after a complaint is resolved. Officials said the system is not always passenger-friendly because passengers may not receive the feedback link or may be reluctant to share the OTP after their complaint has been addressed.

This can delay the formal closure of complaints. Thus, it has been decided that CRIS may therefore examine alternative ways of obtaining feedback and also consider mechanisms to close complaints when OTP-based feedback is not received.

Linen and Coach Mitra staff details

RailMadad already provides contact details of OBHS staff and the concerned service provider or firm to help passengers get assistance. However, similar information is currently not available for linen distribution staff and departmental employees working as Coach Mitra.

The Railway Board has asked CRIS to modify the RailMadad application so that relevant staff details can be fetched from the existing CMM portal. This could help passengers and railway officials contact the appropriate staff for linen and other coach-related issues while the train is running.

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Complaints against rescheduled trains

Another issue concerns trains that have been rescheduled. Officials pointed out that passengers can sometimes register grievances against a rescheduled train before it has actually departed from its originating station.

CRIS has been advised to develop a mechanism to prevent such complaints from being registered before the actual departure of the train.

Restriction of repeated complaints

Zonal Railways also raised concerns about passengers lodging multiple complaints of a similar nature within a short period using the same device or PNR number.

CRIS has been advised to develop suitable logic to restrict repeated complaints of a similar nature from the same device or PNR within a short period. The measure will be coordinated with the Railway Board’s concerned passenger grievance directorate.

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Running-train complaints may be separated from station complaints

Another problem highlighted during the meeting was the incorrect selection of complain “Station” category instead of the appropriate “Train” category. This can result in complaints being assigned to station authorities even though the issue concerns a running train. It can also affect complaint statistics for both stations and trains.

“CRIS may examine the matter and incorporate a provision enabling authorized users to reclassify incorrectly registered complaints under the appropriate category,” according to the minutes of VC meeting.

New RailMadad dashboard

The meeting also discussed a new dashboard developed by CRIS to monitor the status of complaints across different areas. Zonal Railways have been asked to review the dashboard and suggest any additional features that could improve complaint monitoring.