Mumbai News: Disputes between passengers and ticket checking staff over tickets on Mumbai local trains could soon be recorded on camera. The Mumbai Central Division of Western Railway has launched a new pilot initiative to make ticket checking more transparent and reduce disputes between passengers and ticket checkers (TCs). The initiative is being implemented under the railway’s Namaste campaign, with a particular focus on ticket checking on AC local trains.
As part of the pilot project, Western Railway has prepared 15 body cameras and 30 specially designed jackets for ticket checking staff. The body cameras will record audio and video of interactions between railway employees and passengers during ticket checks. The recordings will be securely stored on the camera’s SD card, allowing railway officials to verify complaints or disputes by checking what actually happened during the interaction.
How Will The Body Camera System Work? The body camera will be fitted to the front of the special jacket worn by the ticket checking staff and will include a microphone. This means conversations and incidents during ticket checking can be captured as they happen. The initiative is aimed at ensuring that railway employees interact with passengers in a polite and professional manner, while also giving passengers greater transparency during ticket checks.
The specially designed jacket is another key feature of the pilot project. Rather than being just part of the uniform, the jacket has been designed as a mobile workstation for ticket checking staff. It has multiple compartments to carry equipment such as handheld terminals, EFT machines, identity cards, nameplates and other essential items. The body camera and microphone are integrated into the jacket, while the equipment and wires are positioned in a way that keeps them largely out of passengers’ view.
One of the main objectives of the initiative is to make it easier for the railway administration to establish what happened when a passenger raises a complaint against a ticket checker or vice versa. With audio and video recordings available, officials will be able to review interactions instead of relying only on statements from the people involved. Western Railway hopes the experiment will help reduce arguments during ticket checks and make the process more transparent, disciplined and passenger-friendly.