No decision yet on allowing more government employees on trains

The QR code passes had been promised so that crowds can be realistically assessed and local train numbers can be adjusted accordingly. Pic/Satej Shinde

While no decision was taken in the joint meeting between the Maharashtra government and Indian Railways on Monday about allowing any other category of passengers onboard local trains, railway officials have requested the state to expedite the QR code passes. These had been promised so that crowds can be realistically assessed and local train numbers can be adjusted accordingly.

On Saturday, Union Home Secretary had called for more central government employees like those of the income tax, customs and postal departments to access local trains. However, the Maharashtra government is still working on gathering data on all those who travel by local trains, as promised on April 15.

"Once we have this data, we can have realistic information on the number of local train travellers and it will help plug those travelling without authority. It will also help us decide on the number of services that need to be introduced. If required, we shall add services based on these numbers. As of now no decision has been taken," a top official who attended the meeting said.

The railways, meanwhile, said they were internally ready to integrate the QR code passes with their ticketing software, which could be used on the existing UTS app.
A Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) official said they were working on the QR passes, with the process on to update the database with required essential category employees, which is being done with the help of Mumbai police. Only once this database is updated, will the government employee ID cards be in sync with the QR codes.

The QR based E-passes will also bear colour coding to enable swifter ticket checking so that there are minimal delays while entering and exiting the station. The passes could be checked/verified on a normal smart phone by guards/TCs at the entry gates.

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