Mangaluru: The Palakkad Division of Southern Railway has covered nine of its important trains with onboard housekeeping service (OBHS) to ensure that train patrons have a pleasant journey.

Available in reserved coaches, the service may be obtained by a passenger on sending text message to dedicated Coach Mitra number Ph: 9821736069. Services available include Coach Cleaning (C), Electrical (E), Linen/Bed Roll (L), Pest Control (P), Petty Repairs (R), Toilet Cleaning (T) and Watering (W).

While complaints pertaining to coach cleanliness, toilet cleaning and watering would be attended by OBHS personnel, other categories of complaints would be attended to at the next railway station, said a senior Railway official in Mangaluru Railway Region.

The complaint has to be in the following format: OB<space><Complaint Type><space><PNR><space> Description of the complaint. Example; OB T 2463124577 Toilet not cleaned. Complaint type and PNR are mandatory, the official said.

Once the passenger registers the complaint, he would get an acknowledgement and it would be forwarded to supervisor of the OBHS team on the particular train. After the complaint is attended, the passenger has to respond to the quality of service (satisfied/ not satisfied) through a one-time password sent to him, only after which the supervisor can close the complaint, the official said.

OBHS is provided through outsourcing even as the Railways thoroughly conducts the background examination of the workers concerned before deploying them on trains. The service is available between 6 a.m. and 10 p.m. only as the Railways does not want to disturb passengers during sleeping hours, the official said.

To ensure that the service is rendered as prescribed, officials from the Railways will conduct surprise checks on trains.

They will send text messages using some PNR numbers to check whether there is immediate response to the grievance. If found not satisfactory either by officials or passengers through their feedback, the contractor would be penalised.

OBHS personnel are expected to maintain coaches and toilets neat and tidy even without any complaint as a routine, the official said and added that they have to replenish consumables in toilets; collect trash from passengers and dispose them of at identified stations. There would be one worker for every three coach.