Rly staff to get ID cards, uniforms with QR codes to prevent overcharging

While staffers of premier trains such as Vande Bharat and Rajdhani will get navy blue jackets, the employees of other trains will wear light blue t-shirts. The IRCTC authorities are also to start issuing ID cards bearing QR codes, which staffers will need to wear while working inside long-distance trains

MUMBAI: In a bid to address complaints of overcharging by vendors inside long-distance trains, the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC) has begun getting new uniforms made for its staff. The uniforms will have a QR code displaying the menu and official rates and a helpline number for passengers to complain. This system will be operative by the Christmas-New Year vacation period.

Rly staff to get ID cards, uniforms with QR codes to prevent overcharging

While staffers of premier trains such as Vande Bharat and Rajdhani will get navy blue jackets, the employees of other trains will wear light blue t-shirts. The IRCTC authorities are also to start issuing ID cards bearing QR codes, which staffers will need to wear while working inside long-distance trains. While one side of the card will have the menu along with the official rates of the food items, the other side will enable passengers to make digital payments. This will reduce the need for physical cash transactions and curb the possibility of overcharging and unnecessary arguments.

“As a measure to reduce complaints of overcharging, we will begin with this new system of QR codes and uniforms with a special helpline number,” said Gaurav Jha, group general manager (western zone), IRCTC. “The uniforms are being made and will be ready for the upcoming year-end vacations.” IRCTC is already in talks with Central and Western Railway authorities for this, and trains starting from Mumbai will be among the first to have these features.

According to IRCTC officials, on an average, the western zone alone receives 100 to 120 complaints per day, of 35% to 40% are about overcharging, be it for bottled water or food served by the pantry run by private contractors. “With social media, the avenues to complain have gone up,” said another official. “However genuine complaints are certainly reducing, and this new measure will further help identify specific trains and contractors whose employees overcharge.” Most of the complaints about illegal vendors selling food and bottled water are from trains bound for Uttar Pradesh and Bihar.

Meanwhile, IRCTC is also set to add new rail and air tourist packages for Christmas and New Year, for which a special WhatsApp number, 8287931886, has been launched for passengers. The domestic tours are to Kerala, Andaman, Odisha, Rann of Kutch, Ayodhya, Varanasi and Saurashtra while the international tours are to Nepal and Sri Lanka.