The Passenger Amenities Committee (PAC) of the Indian Railways inspected Mysuru station on Monday and gave a thumbs-up to the amenities and services available.
Chairman P.K. Krishnadas and four members inspected the waiting rooms, current booking and advanced reservation offices, pay-and-use toilet in the circulating area, parking facilities, foot overbridge, escalators and lifts, security and surveillance system, catering and miscellaneous stalls, etc.
The Committee expressed satisfaction over the scale of amenities and the standard of cleanliness maintained and later interacted with the rail-users to get a first hand feedback about the facilities provided.
Speaking on the need to lay greater emphasis on women’s safety on railway premises and on board trains, the Committee wanted the railways to step up vigil in areas such as subways by deploying more number of women Railway Protection staff and also enhance ticket checking staff to instil confidence in rail-users.
Later in the day, the Committee held discussions with Divisional Railway Manager Aparna Garg.
The DRM informed the committee that the failure of the Indian Railway Catering & Tourism Corporation Ltd. (IRCTC) to finalise the contract for setting up a food plaza in the station was the main reason for the station still not having full-fledged round-the-clock-catering services.
She said it was pending since September 2019 and affecting passengers comfort. The DRM also said that completion of passenger amenities has been affected due to shortage of grant. Mr. Krishnadas said he will take up these issues with the higher authorities.
There was also an inspection of the Srirangapatna station where several representations were submitted seeking stoppage of trains at the station. The Committee said these issues would be examined after taking into account the operation and safety issues involved.
