SERVICE OPERATIONS MANAGEMENT

INDIAN RAILWAY PASSENGER SERVICES

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12/11/2013

K.KEERTHI (DM14229)

INTRODUCTION
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Railways were first introduced to India in 1853. By 1947, there were forty-two rail systems. In 1951 the systems were nationalized, thus Indian Railways, becoming one of the largest networks in the world. Indian Railways has 114,500 km of total track over a route of 65,000 km and 7,500 stations. It has the world's fourth largest railway network after those of United States, Russia and China. The railways carry over 30 million passengers and 2.8 million tons of freight daily. It is the world's 2nd largest commercial or utility employer, by number of employees, with more than 1.36 million employees. Indian Railways operates long distance and suburban rail systems on a multi gauge network of broad, meter and narrow gauges. It also owns locomotive and coach production facilities. As for rolling stock, IR owns over 240,000 (freight) wagons, 60,000 coaches and 9,000 locomotives.

PRODUCT OFFERING:

Passenger services Freight services 2

SERVICE CONCEPT
Availability of facilities according to different classes

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SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM

Covering 115000 km of total track with 7500 trains

Model and modern stations

Festival and seasonal special trains

OPERATING STRATEGY
adequate passenger amenities responsive and effective grievance redressal

Different modes of booking

Notified standard for various services

SERVICE VALUE DEFINITIONsafe and dependable train services

courteous & efficient counter service

Pension facilities for employees

INPUTS Engine Boogies Human resources Technology Electricity Power Tack Ticket booking Stations

PROCESS Announcement of trains Train arrival Passenger arrival Porter services PNR status check Boarding Train departure Ticket checking Train services as per the Class

OUTPUT Passenger journey Arrival

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Porter services Ticket check Passenger departure

Passenger Journey experience

Catering facilities
First aid facilities Security Maintenance of train Maintenance of station Engineering & Mechanical Laundry

Security check

SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM

24*7 Customer service in the form of SMS or Call E-ticketing for reserved segment and Janasadharan ticket booking sewaks and Gramin ticketing booking sewaks for unreserved segment automated PNR status Complaints and suggestions taken from customers Porter facility Security arrangement on board the trains Provision of catering services Waiting Hall facility Model and Modern stations- for provision of upgraded passenger amenities Facilities for physically challenged Break van facility for excess luggage

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CUSTOMER MANAGEMENT:

EMPLOYEE MANAGEMENT:

Pension facilities for retired staff Pass entitlements: Free travel facilities Leave entitlements: 15 days- Leave on average pay, 10 days- Leave on Half average pay, 8 days- Casual leave Medical facilities: Free medical treatment for serving and retired employees Accommodation: Quarters facility Railways schools for employees children, Scholarships for technical education under staff benefit

SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM Contd

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Maintenance of trains Maintenance of Stations QUALITY Frequents surprise Inspections by higher officials MANAGEMENT Complaint forum in Online portal Special trains on festivals Seasonal trains Tatkal booking CAPACITY Increasing the number of trains PLANNING: Increasing the number of boogies

Availability of different Classes Security facility in train FACILITY Medical facilities PLANNING: Catering services 6

SERVICE DELIVERY SYSTEM Contd

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Divided into sixteen divisions 114,500 Km of total track over a route of 65,ooo Km and 7500 trains

LOCATION PLANNING:

PROCESS PLANNING:

E-ticket, I-ticket, direct- ticket booking available Availability of cancellation and re-booking, tatkal booking Porter services Waiting Halls Automated Display of schedule Automated announcement of departure Reservation Chart preparation Display of platform numbers, display of coach numbers on the platform Catering services

QUALITY MANAGEMENT 1.SERVICE QUALITY ATTRIBUTES

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RELIABILITY

Railways are accurate in Record Keeping. Railways are accurate in timing of Trains. Railways performs Service Correctly. When you have problems Railways shows sincere interest in solving it. Railways adheres to punctuality of Trains.

ASSURANCE

Indian Railways is trustworthy. You feel safe in your travel. Railway employees are courteous with customers. Railway employees have knowledge to answer customer questions.

SERVICE QUALITY ATTRIBUTES Contd

Railway staffs tell exactly when services will be performed. Railway employees give prompt service to customers. Railway employees are always willing to help. Railway employees are never too busy to respond to customer requests.

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RESPONSIVENESS

EMPATHY

Railways give individual attention. Railway operations are convenient to passengers. Railway employees give personnel attention. It is easy to plan a railway journey.

PHYSICAL EVIDENCE

Railway has modern looking equipment & infrastructure at stations and trains. 2. Railways Physical Facilities like Lighting, seating and Toilets are OK. 3. Staffs of Railways are neat in Appearance. 4. Time Tables, Display Boards etc are visually appealing.

2. SERVICE QUALITY GAP ANALYSIS

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7 6 5 4 3 2 Perception Avg. Expectation Avg.

Perception Dimension Avg. Tangibles Reliability Responsiven ess Assurance Empathy 2.92 2.8 2.9 3.61 2.96

Expectation Avg. 5.68 6.05 5.45 5.87 5.5

1
0

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SERVICE QUALITY GAP ANALYSIS Contd

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Gap in the Reliability is higher which means, it is Railways weakest dimension.

The most important dimension is Reliability.

The least important dimension is Responsiveness.

The most satisfying dimension is Assurance.

The least satisfying dimension is Reliability.

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PROCESS PLANNING
1.SERVICE CLASSIFICATION
Capital Intensive
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FACTORY

SHOP

Railw ays

Labor Intensive

Mass Service

PROFESSIONAL

Low Customization

High

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2.PROCESS STRATEGY
CORE PROCESS
Process

SUPPLEMENTARY PROCESS
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Type Runner Runner Runner Runner Runner Runner Runner Runner Runner

F.O/B.O F.O B.O F.O F.O B.O B.O B.O B.O B.O 13

Boarding stage
Booking counter Data base and reservation system Issue of ticket Porter services

Journey stage
Reservation chart preparation Laundry Security Maintenance of station

Arrival

Maintenance of Train

3.SERVICE BLUE PRINT

Service and scripts Enquiry stage Reservation System Boarding Stage Journey Stage Arrival at the station Food, pillows & sheets Tea stall, Annou nceme nts of trains
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Booking Counter, Sound and Tone of the representativ e

Physical evidence

Booking Counter, Sound and Tone of Person and ticket

Railway Station, Voice of Announcem ents, Train appearanc e

The list Of Passe nger

Seats, toilets, windo ws, cleanli ness-

Noise of the trains, tracks and signals

Ticket checker uniform, list of other passenge rs

customer

Enquiry

Reservatio n

Contact (Visible)

Gives Required Info.

Issue the ticket

Arrives at the station and hires coolie if required Take the Bags to the boogie

Check PNR status

Board the train

Journey start

Gets Ticket checke d Ticket checker checke d ticket

Receive Food and facilities Deliver food and bedding

Arrives at destinati on and hires a coolie

Takes the bag to the taxi

Preparati on of list and putting at required places

Invisible Process

Driver starts the train

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Database and reservation system

Rail traffic operator

Provide with list of passenger s and other info

Invisible Process

Prepare food and clean the bed

The following bottlenecks were observed in the blueprinting:

Delay in arrivals and departures of trains. 12/11/2013 Poor Railway traffic management. Poor catering facilities inside the train. Poor condition of tangibles inside the train as well as on the stations. Only one track in many regions. Difficulty in purchasing tickets at the counters. Poor capacity utilization. Frequent failure of server for online booking. Poor and last moment management of waitlisted tickets. Unethical behavior of ticket collectors.

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4. METRICS
Process Announcement of trains Standard
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10-15 min in advance of arrival

Train arrival
Train departure Ticket checking Booking counter Issue of ticket Reservation chart preparation

On time
On time 3 min 5 min 2 min

For trains that departure before 12:00 noon, chart should be prepared before 08:00PM of previous day. For trains after 12:00 noon, should be prepared before four hours

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CAPACITY PLANNING
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Capacity is created (or destroyed) by a host of factors, all interrelated.

Capacity is not only infrastructure issue but rolling stock, motive power, employees and operating strategies (size of trains, speed of trains, timing of trains, etc.) are all part of Capacity.

capacity constraints: shortage of coaches overcrowded trains low space capacity old and outdated seats Demand is large and shortage of time, labor and facilities make the problem worse. we need to identify demand patterns for different capacity constraints.

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CAPACITY PLANNING Contd

Travelling in peak hours is especially high. Non-frequent travelers also prefer to travel in nights to save the day time for work. Demand patterns can be analyzed using large available data with Indian railways.

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For increasing infrastructure as well as maintaining the existing infrastructure, labor is a must require input. Labor supply is not same every time and is dependent on the business cycle.

Demand for facilities may increase due to delay in arriving time of trains at station, weather conditions, frequent travelling etc. Variables like weather conditions cannot be controlled, so we see a random demand fluctuation in use of facilities

Capacity Constraints
Time Labor Facilities

Demand patterns
Charting demand patterns Predictable cycles Random demand fluctuation
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RECOMMENDATIONS
Analyzed various bottlenecks present in the entire service delivery system can be eliminated by :
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There is a strong need to bring some private player into catering services to enhance the quality of catering. Proper mechanism of maintaining time table should be implemented to enhance the punctuality. More no. of ticket counters should be built, duration of booking should be increased also. Ticket booking staffs need to work very efficiently and should be given proper training to deal with passengers. Capacity of its existing online booking server should be increased

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RECOMMENDATIONS Contd

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Railways needs to enhance the conditions of seats in the compartment and need to maintain proper sanitation.

Railways needs to work a lot to manage its demand and capacity by proper utilization of their resources. .

Proper monitoring of unethical behavior of railway employees should be there.

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RECOMMENDATIONS Contd

To manage Capacity:

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Nature of Constraints
Time

How to overcome it?

Increasing the frequency of trains at peak times Enhancing speed and safety Maintaining proper supply of labor Replacing machines with human labor.

Labor

Facilities

Availability of monthly passes and quarterly passes, Concession for students Cleanliness

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RECOMMENDATIONS Contd
Following strategies can be adopted for managing demand to match capacity:

Developing Complementary services- Collaborating with hotel industry especially for tourist spots. Improving the catering facilities by involving private players. Promoting off-Peak demand- Lowering fares for special occasions and off-peak season. Introducing special discounts on purchase of bulk tickets.

Modifying timing and location of service delivery- Improvising upon the running schedule of each train. Timely modification in extended routes of different trains.

Stretch time, labor, facilities and equipment- Maximum utilization of the current capacity to enhance the tangible facilities in the train as well as on the stations.

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