KARUR

Southern Railway has launched a special Cleanliness drive from 10^th August to 16^th August 2020  to mark the 74^th Independence Day celebrations of our nation.  With o­nly limited special trains running in view of lockdown measures, Southern Railway has taken advantage of this opportunity to carry out massive Cleanliness campaign.

 This weeklong drive primarily focuses o­n the cleanliness of railway stations and premises, colonies, work sites, water vending points, toilets, drains, and other areas such as approach roads in the vicinity of railway stations with a special focus of railway tracks. While focusing o­n cleanliness of tracks special attention has been given to collection of plastic waste along with other waste.  Further, at Workshops and coaching depots, offices and store rooms were thoroughly cleaned by involving staff in a dedicated way to carry out every possible cleanliness tasks.

In Southern Railway, the Cleanliness drive has picked up pace with 266 stations across the six divisions covered during the period from 10^th to 13^th August, 2020.

In Chennai Division, Cleanliness activities were undertaken at 142 railway stations.  At Dr MGR Chennai Central, the tracks were cleaned by removing plastic waste and vegetation alongside besides Platforms, toilets and concourse area.  Similarly, intensive Cleanliness drives were carried out at major stations like Chennai Egmore, Basin Bridge, Tiruttani , Katpadi, Tambaram, Madurantakam, among others.  Suburban stations like Mambalam, Chennai Beach, Chennai Park, Avadi, Tiruninravur, Sullurpet, Tiruvottiyur and Tirumailai (MRTS) were cleaned up, to mention a few.

In Madurai Division,Cleanliness activities were carried out at 56 railway stations – Madurai, Ambasamudram, Dindigul, Karaikudi, Pudukotttai, Tuticorin, Tenakasi, Tirunelveli and Virudhunagar, among others.

In Tiruchchirappalli Division, Cleanliness activities were ramped up at 12 locations – Tiruchchirappalli Jn, Tanjavur, Villuppuram, Vriddhachalam, Kumbakonam, Mayiladuthurai, to name a few.

In Salem Division,  11 stations have been covered in the Cleanliness drive so far that include Salem Jn, Coimbatore, Erode and Karur.  NMR stations like Mettupalayam and Udagamandalam also sported neat and tidy looks upon undertaking intensive cleanliness drives.

In Palakkad Division, 31 stations were cleaned up  that include Palakkad, Kozhikode, Mangalore Central, Kuttipuram, Shoranur, Kanhangad, to mention a few.

In Thiruvananthapuram Division, Cleanliness drives were undertaken at 14 stations that include Alleppey,  Alwaye, Ernakulam Town, Kochuveli, Thiruvananthapuram Central, to name a few.

Intensive Cleanliness drives were also carried out at the three premier workshops of Southern Railway viz., Golden Rock Workshop, Loco Works and C&W Workshops at Perambur .  Store rooms of workshops and coaching depots were cleaned and materials sorted to give a clean look.

All the laid down safety protocols such as wearing of masks and social distancing were strictly enforced among employees participating in the Cleanliness drives. 

Southern Railway appeals to rail users and general public to join hands with Railways in this noble cause of maintaining high standards of Cleanliness at railway stations and trains.  Truly, this would be a befitting tribute to our Motherland o­n this Independence Day. 

Over 8 lakh passengers benefit from liberalized refund rules

In view of nation-wide lockdown, all passenger train operations have been suspended since 22^ndMarch, 2020.  The lockdown was extended in phases and currently lockdown 5.0 is in force till 30^th June, 2020.   Indian Railways announced liberalized refund rules for the benefit of passengers booked through PRS (Passenger Reservation System) counters.  For e-tickets, automated refunds are being facilitated by IRCTC.  Presently, passengers who have booked tickets through PRS counters for journeys falling during  22^th March, 2020 to 12^thAugust, 2020 are eligible for refunds upto 6 months from the date of journey.

 Southern Railway arranged for staggered disbursal of refunds at PRS counters in major railway stations across the zone.  In the state of Kerala, PRS counters at major locations in Palakkad and Thiruvananthapuram Divisions were opened for refunds from 22^nd of May, 2020. PRS counters at various important locations including those at Thiruvananthapuram Central, Thrissur, Ernakulam ,Kollam, Kozhikkode, Mangalore Junction and  Palakkad Junction railway stations started functioning for disbursal of refunds.

In view of widespread pandemic, in pursuance of Railway Board’s instructions, PRS counters in Tamil Nadu were opened for refunds from 1^st of June, 2020 in a staggered manner.  PRS counters at Dr MGR Chennai Central, Chennai Egmore, Tiruchchirappalli Jn, Tanjavur, Kumbakonam, Salem ,Karur, Coimbatore, Madurai, Tirunelveli,Dindigul and many other important locations started functioning for disbursal of refunds. 

Southern Railway has arranged a refund of Rs.44.5 crores o­n ticket cancellations at PRS counters during the period from 22^nd May, 2020 to 28^thJune, 2020.  A total of 8 lakh passengers have cancelled their tickets benefiting from the liberalized refund rules.

In Chennai Division, Rs.12.83 crores has been disbursed by way of refunds.   In Madurai Division, refund to the tune of Rs.4.39 crores is disbursed.  Rs.6.62 crores and Rs.4.20 crores were disbursed respectively in Salem and Tiruchchirappalli Divisions.  In Thiruvananthapuram Division, amount to the tune of 11.2 crores and in Palakkad Division, Rs.5.25 crores were disbursed  as refund.

In view of the intense Lockdown in Chennai area as announced by the State Government from 19th June to 30th June 2020, all the PRS  Locations falling under the Lockdown area in Chennai and certain parts of Chengalpattu, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur District are being kept closed from 19th June to 30th June 2020.  Similarly, In view of the complete lockdown imposed from 23^rd to 30^th June 2020, PRS counters in Madurai lockdown areas are kept closed.