The Hindu Business Line : Rlys plans to issue online receipts for booking of goods

INDIAN Railways plans to make it possible for its customers to print and issue their railway receipts (RR) at select destinations of the customers' choice. While the Railways has already implemented this in the Southern, South Central and East Central Railways, it plans to make the RR issuance process online across all the Zonal Railways within this financial year.

As on date, RRs are generally issued manually at goods sheds where goods are booked. An RR is issued to the customer after he pays for his loaded goods. And the customer is required to produce the same (not a copy of it) at the receiving end while claiming the goods from the destination. Thus, he couriers the RR to the destination so that it can be handed over at the receiving end.

"Railway receipts are a proof that the goods belong to the user," explained Mr M.R. Ramakrishnan, Managing Director, Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS). RRs are also treated as negotiable instruments. They can be deposited in the bank and the customer can borrow funds up to 90 per cent of value of freight. They contain various information on the freight being carried which includeorigin and destination, consigner and consignee, commodity, weight, total freight bill and payment details, route and dates of despatch and expected arrival.

"We plan to make the process of issuance of RRs centralised and online so that customers can have a print-out of their RRs at some select, desired destinations," said Mr Ramakrishnan. This would save our customers the trouble of sending the RR to the destination after goods are booked.

At present, with every loading, four copies of RRs are generated — one is given to the customer and three are kept with the Railways. One with records of originating station, one with centralised accounts department and another is sent to the destination Railway through post or through the train which transports the goods, explained Mr Ramakrishnan.

Once the system is online, the system of copies making three copies for Railways at the goodshed would continue initially. "But what is contemplated is that the need to send the destination copy of RR by post or by the same train can be done away with since the destination station can access the information online and get the print-out if necessary," he added.

Asked about the cost of making the entire system online, Mr Ramakrishnan said that "the cost is not much since most of the infrastructure and equipment required is already in place at various stations".

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