Train captains to ensure smooth ride

The railway ministry, which introduced the concept of one single person/leader responsible for coordinating the entire team and facilitating all services has issued a detailed order to all railway zones to make “train captains” available on all trains. It is the duty of the senior most TTE or the designated “train captain” to facilitate all services during journey, including management of railway personnel and outsourced staff.

In an order dated June 8, 2018, Niraj Sahay, executive director (traffic), transformation cell, Railway Board (copy available with DT Next), the board has instructed all zonal railways to ensure that name and contact number of the train captain is made available to the passengers through reservation charts before departure. In the absence of charts, which is the case with stations like Chennai Central and Egmore, the board has instructed the zones to announce the details of the captain at convenient timings to the travelling passengers.

Going by the order, train superintendents aboard Rajdhani/Shatabdi/Duranto and other trains would be nominated as train captain and made responsible for all facilities on train. On trains without train superintendents, the senior most ticket checking staff would be nominated as the train captain. The board has advised the zones to issue necessary directions to all on board staff, including outsourced staff, to ensure strict compliance of directions of the TC or face action. The principal chief commercial managers of all zones have also been instructed that the mobile numbers of all on board staff be made available to the train captain to contact them whenever their services are required.