Railway coronavirus helplines receive 13,000 queries a day during lockdown

Railway helplines set up to deal with customer grievances during the coronavirus-triggered lockdown received 13,000 queries, requests and suggestions a day on an average, the national transporter said in a statement on Monday.

The Railway Emergency Cell for COVID, a comprehensive nationwide unit, comprises about 400 officers and staff from the Railway Board to Railway Divisions.

"During the lockdown, the cell has been responding to about 13,000 queries, requests and suggestions everyday, from five communication and feedback platforms -- helplines 139 and 138, social media, specially Twitter, email -railmadad@rb.railnet.gov.in and CPGRAMS. More than 90 per cent of the queries were responded on one-to-one basis, mostly in the local language of the caller, over telephone," the statement said.

RailMadad Helpline 139 answered over 2,30,000 queries on one-on-one basis in first four weeks of the lockdown, in addition to queries answered by its IVRS facility.

The queries over 138 and 139 are mostly for commencement of train services and the relaxed refund rules (which itself was done on the basis of the feedback from public).

During the same period, over 1,10,000 calls were received on Helpline 138, which is geo-fenced, that is, calls land on the nearest Railway Divisional Control Office, manned round-the-clock by railway personnel well-versed in local language and familiar with local issues.

"This ensures that callers receive information and guidance in the language that they are comfortable speaking. This new feature also makes flow of information to railway customers and others faster as the pertinent information is readily available with the division concerned," the statements said.