NEW DELHI: The train ticket examiners' union has lauded the railway ministry's initiative to introduce a biometric-attendance system at lobbies, affirming that it will rule out allegations of impersonation, while also enhancing operational efficiency.
The Ministry of Railways has recently started implementing the fingerprint-recognition attendance system in a phased manner at TTE lobbies across the railway network, aiming to modernise operations and improve accountability.
The most recent addition to adopt the system is Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyay Junction in the East Central Railway (ECR) zone, where it became operational on August 19.
Prior to this, the biometric-attendance system was made functional at lobbies across several railway divisions, including Banaras (Northern Railway), Sonpur (ECR), Ratlam (Western Railway), Mumbai, Pune and Solapur (Central Railway), Malda (Eastern Railway), Mysore (South Western Railway), Bhopal (West Central Railway), Madurai (Southern Railway) and Kota (West Central Railway).
"I appreciate this move as it will eliminate unsubstantiated allegations of impersonation and modernise the attendance system," Sanjay Singh, national president of the Indian Railway Ticket Checking Staff Organisation (IRTCSO), said.
"Earlier, we used to log in using ID, password and an OTP sent to the individual's mobile phone. At those TTE lobbies where the biometric-authentication system is not yet operational, the log-in system will continue to be used until they are fully upgraded," he added.
Singh said although there has not been a single case of a TTE misusing the log-in system, they have still faced such allegations from time to time. "I believe this modern approach will help the ticket-checking staff maintain their dignity and uphold work ethics," he added.
According to the ministry, the key objectives of the biometric system are authentic attendance to ensure that the attendance records are accurate and verifiable, real-time tracking that provides real-time data on staff availability and duty status, allowing for more efficient management, enhanced monitoring that offers effective monitoring of working hours and lobby operations, and seamless integration with hand-held terminals and duty rosters for a streamlined staff deployment.