Pune RPF’s token system for general bogies to go national

Three years ago, Pune RPF Divisional Commissioner D Vikas had started giving tokens to unreserved ticket passengers waiting to board trains, instead of asking them to stand in queues.

A system started by the Pune Railway Protection Force (RPF) to manage crowds waiting for unreserved general category long distance trains, will now be adopted by the Indian Railways at the national level.

Three years ago, Pune RPF Divisional Commissioner D Vikas had started giving tokens to unreserved ticket passengers waiting to board trains, instead of asking them to stand in queues. After the passengers received their tickets from the booking window, they would stand in a queue at the counter to get a token. The token would decide when they could enter the train. Once they collected the token, the passengers could move around the station or rest for a while until their turn came to board the train. After getting a token, general passengers sit in well-managed numbered queues and don’t allow any outsider to intrude. The system has become popular with commuters.

Allotment of tokens on first-come first-serve basis led to streamlining of the entry process, since passengers no longer had to stand in a queue to board the train. Before this system was implemented in Pune, the crowds were often difficult to manage.

The Railway Board has now instructed all zonal chiefs to implement this system and make general coaches less crowded.

“Every day, we would see long queues forming for trains heading to Patna, Kolkata, Gorakhpur and other destinations in the north. Passengers generally sit on the platform with RPF and Government Railway Police (GRP) officials monitoring queues. This system was cumbersome for passengers as they had to queue up for hours and could not even move for basic needs. With introduction of the token system, we have made life easier for them as well for our own staff,” said D Vikas, Divisional Security Commissioner of Pune railway division.

The token collection counters open four hours before train departure. Tokens are allotted as per the seating capacity of a train’s general coaches. Those who get a token are assured an entry.

A few months ago, this system was adopted by the Western Railway at Mumbai Central and Bandra Terminus stations. A senior officer from the Central Railway said, “The aim of the project is to prevent stampede-like situations at platforms at the time of boarding trains with general coaches.”

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