RailEnquiry

PATNA: The railways has allotted Rs 64.85 crore to the East Central Railway (ECR) for further improvement of passenger amenities in all its five divisions. The ECR has already spent Rs 8.30 crore so far.According to ECR GM Madhuresh Kumar, these amenities include provisions of passenger reservation system (PRS), unreserved ticketing system (UTS), platform extension, sheds on platforms, safe drinking water, benches and platform surfacing. The ECR has, however, been allocated a sizeable amount to be spent on various ongoing projects in the current fiscal, including three mega bridges in Bihar, he said.The ECR has 121 PRSs while the number of UTSs is 349, which is a record in this newly created zone.The GM said railways has given a priority to Janata Ticket Booking Sewak (JTBS) scheme in each division with a view to enabling each person to procure ticket easily.He said about 85 lakh passengers travel daily from different stations under ECR, yielding about Rs 5.85 crore per day revenue. Similarly, ECR is earning about Rs 25 crore per day from goods loading segment, he said.Railways, till June this year, has attached about 163 extra coaches to long-distance trains to clear passengers rush during festivals. Besides introducing 17 special trains, railways increased the number of coaches in a few long-distance trains on permanent basis, the GM said.