The railway authorities have initiated the introduction of a General Packet Radio Service (GPRS) facility which will enable passengers to find out the exact location of trains as well as the status of time schedules, a move travellers say would help reduce hassle.
Railway officials told the Dhaka Tribune that the GPRS facility, which transfered data through cellular networks, might be operational during the Eid-ul-Azha rush in the first week of October.
The GPRS will allow passengers to know whether a train is running on-time or late, simply by sending a text message with their mobile phones.
For instance, passengers who want to know the location of a Chittagong-bound Suborno Express will just need to type the name or code of the train, and send it to a number. The passenger will get a reply message with the information.
Each train will have a short name or code with which travellers can inquire.
“We have already started installing GPRS devices in the locomotives. Hopefully, the service will be operational before of Eid-ul-Azha,” Khalilur Rahman, additional director general of Bangladesh Railway, told the Dhaka Tribune.
Railway technicians have already installed some of the device, he added.
Nasir Uddin, a joint director general of the railway, told the Dhaka Tribune that during the primary stages, the facilities would be available for around 40 inter-city trains.
“Gradually, the service will be available for other trains as well,” he said.
The official said his department would publicise the proposed services in detail so that more people are attracted to travelling by train, the safest mode of travel.
Passengers have welcomed the plan. In most cases, trains run late, but nonetheless passengers must come to the station to find out the location and status of the trains.
The passengers turn up at the station according to the time written on their ticket, only to find out that their train is delayed, forcing them to wait in the station.
Due to this common hassle, many people refrain from travelling by trains.
Md Khaleque, who waited at the Dhaka Cantonment station to travel to Shantahar, told the Dhaka Tribune, “I went to the station at 8.30am to catch the Nilphamari-bound Nilsagor Express, but they (railway staff) informed us that the train is delayed,”
The introduction of a mobile train information service would be a great service, he said.
Another passenger, Parvin Begum, said, “We would not wait at the station if we knew the information in advance”.
Railway employees say they have to deal with a lot more customer queries when trains run late.
“If the passengers can get the train information through mobile phones, a good number of them will not come to us it will be a relief,” a railway employee at the Komolapur station told the Dhaka Tribune.
