Speaking to the media who were present at Secunderabad Railway Station during his visit, Shri Derek O’Brien said that the six divisions of South Central Railway can be termed to be amongst the top-most divisions on Indian Railways itself, in terms of providing passenger amenities. With regard to catering on train, which has been taken over by the Railways from IRCTC, Shri O’Brien said that out of 15 trains which are provided with pantry cars on SCR, 9 have already been taken over by the Railways, while the remaining will also be taken over shortly. He also stated that the Hyderabad " New Delhi AP Express has been chosen as the model train for optimizing catering and passenger facilities. As a part of the same, Shri M.S.Jayanth, General Manager, South Central Railway himself had travelled by that train to check on the catering and passenger facilities, he added.
With a view to ensure that individual passengers do not face inconvenience, no mass booking of reservations will be allowed after 16th November, 2010 on the internet reservation facility in the first hour from 08.00 to 09.00 am, Shri Derek O’Brien informed. He also stated that the new website of Indian Railways which will come into use from 20th December, 2010 will be more user friendly and afford rail users the opportunity to reach out to the railway officials better. On the development of passenger amenities at Secunderabad Railway Station, Shri Derek O’Brien said that three escalators will be provided here by next year. He also stressed on the fact that there is a genuine area for improvement on Railways and media has a role to play in this aspect.
