RailEnquiry

LICENSED porters at railway stations such as Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus and Mumbai Central will soon get modern airport-style trolleys to ferry luggage, as suggested by Railway Board recently. In its renewed policy on luggage trolleys, zonal railways will obtain luggage trolleys from public sector undertakings or corporate houses for the benefit of porters. While a rate is yet to be determined, presently at Sealdah and Howrah Railway station the trolley service is available for Rs 35. The move is expected to benefit women and senior citizens. At present, porters either carry the luggage or use two or four-wheel barrows to ferry heavy luggage.

As per the revised policy, not more than 50 trolleys will be given to porters at major railway stations. To check malpractices, 20 additional trolleys will be kept with deputy station superintendent (commercial) at railway stations. Passengers who wish to self-operate trolleys should give a deposit that will be refunded when the trolley is returned. However, this will only benefit those passengers who have an escort with them.

A railway official said, "It could be a challenge to use the trolleys at railway stations as the ground surface is not the same everywhere." Porters will benefit from the renewed policy since as per the older version, rail yatri sevaks, or persons escorting passengers with trolleys, were their competitors. The airport-style luggage trolleys were introduced as a pilot project at Sealdah and Howrah in 2010. As per the old policy, self-help groups were allowed to provide trolleys at the two railway stations. To ensure availability of trolleys , rail yatri sevak s would escort the passenger up to the train and bring back the trolley to the counter.

A committee that reviewed the service suggested that the trolleys should be handed over to licensed porters,

A porter charges Rs 30 (at major stations) to carry luggage weighing upto 40 kg and Rs 50 for ferrying weight up to 160 kg.