Rail Jan Samvaad will be held at railway stations across Mumbai on October 22, allowing passengers to submit grievances and suggestions directly to Central Railway officials as part of a nationwide Indian Railways passenger engagement programme.
The initiative will be conducted at more than 7,000 stations across the country under the Special Campaign for Disposal of Pending Matters, or SCDPM6. The campaign, being observed across railway zones and units from October 2 to 31, also covers cleanliness, space management, disposal of scrap and electronic waste, and citizen engagement.
According to a Central Railway press release issued on Wednesday, the programme is intended to make direct interaction with passengers a regular part of railway management. Travellers will be able to raise concerns at platforms and other passenger interaction points, while officials will record feedback on railway facilities and services.
Central Railway General Manager Rajeev Shrivastava will lead the programme at Lokmanya Tilak Terminus. Nivedita Shukla Verma, Secretary of the Department of Administrative Reforms and Public Grievances and the Department of Pension and Pensioners’ Welfare, will participate at Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus.
Divisional Railway Managers, branch officers and staff will lead the programme in their respective divisions. More than 300 officers have been nominated to participate at stations across Central Railway, according to the railway administration.
The passenger feedback collected during the interaction will be divided into three categories: short-term, mid-term and long-term. Short-term issues will include matters that can be addressed immediately or within a brief period. Mid-term concerns will require coordination, planning and implementation by the departments concerned, while long-term matters will involve policy changes, strategic planning or approvals from higher authorities.
This classification is intended to help railway officials determine how each grievance should be processed based on its complexity and the level of administrative action required. Central Railway said the mechanism would support a more structured review of passenger concerns rather than treating all feedback in the same manner.
The programme will be held under the theme “Jan ki Awaaz, Yuva ki Soch, Rail ka Samadhaan”, with a specific emphasis on involving young people in discussions about railway facilities and services. The initiative also includes cleanliness activities at stations on the same day.
For Mumbai’s railway users, the exercise creates a scheduled opportunity to place service-related concerns before senior officials and station-level teams. The railway administration has said that feedback from travellers, particularly young citizens, will contribute to improvements in passenger facilities and the overall travel experience.
Central Railway’s stated next step is to collect, categorise and review the feedback received during the October 22 interactions, with follow-up action determined according to whether each issue is short-term, mid-term or long-term.
