The Central Railway (CR) has tied up with private firm Iconce under the brand called ‘mobitip’ to provide information via SMS about how late a train is running on the mainline, Harbour and Trans-Harbour only by giving a missed called.
The initiative has been launched on a trial basis during which commuters can give a call on the toll-free number 1800 212 4501. The call automatically disconnects and the latest update of the all the three lines on CR is sent to the caller.
Railway officials have said that they have given the contract to Iconce for a year. “We usually get funds to experiment on something new or innovative for a year and this facility is just that. Iconce will generate the message that is usually sent out by the control room of the Mumbai division about the local trains and the information comes from our side,” said a CR official, on condition of anonymity.
Pravin Salve from Iconce has said that the experiment will be completed at the end of this week and will be finally launched in the coming week. “We are still working out a few remaining kinks in the system, but yes, if the railway wants to launch it officially we will be ready by next year,” he said.
Commuters in the distant suburbs said that it will be a boon when railways is unable to provide any information during massive delays like the October 24 mega-block taking almost seven-and-a-half-hours, instead of the six hours as declared by the CR. Commuters like Deepesh Pawar (25), a resident of Bandra who wanted to travel to CST said he was stuck in the train for more than one hour. “If I can get a message that tells me trains are late on a Sunday I would prefer to sit back at home and enjoy my Sunday,” he said.
