ISLAMABAD: Pakistan Railways is taking steps to become an e-office soon to digitize its services and improve internal efficiency through e-governance.
The e-office platform aims to meet the need for efficiency and transparency in government processes and service delivery mechanisms, as well as help government departments go paperless.
The idea is being implemented with the help of the National Information Technology Board (NITB), which will be responsible for imparting relevant training to Pakistan Railways personnel.
E-Office is a digital workplace solution that replaces the existing manual handling of files and documents with an efficient electronic system.
According to an official source, Pakistan Railways will soon be in e-office, which will not only facilitate the users but also make the entire system of the department transparent.
Enumerating other steps taken by the department, the source revealed that Pakistan Railways has developed a software application to manage press concession cards.
All related data for press concession cards across the country is managed by the Directorate of Public Relations. The software has been prepared and is also linked to a centralized reservation center.
Regarding the Networking Monitoring System (NMS), the source said that the software has been deployed in the IT Directorate premises with the help of this system, the entire network deployed across the railway network is critically monitored and in case of disconnection of the concerned service provider, it is received and monitored until the fault is rectified .
The effectiveness of the network is also monitored by this system from an audit perspective, he said.
Regarding the provision of internet facilities at various levels, the source said that the entire railway headquarters office is covered with internet. Internet is also provided at the Ministry through the PR Headquarters office (as a backup line).
The management of Pakistan Railways has decided to develop an e-ticketing system with the latest technology in-house. To implement this idea, Pakistan Railways hired IT professionals from the market and developed the software which is deployed and operational since May 2016.
As the e-ticketing system has now been deployed on the latest tools and techniques, an earnings portal for trains has been designed to facilitate the management of earnings at the end of the day.
This portal provides complete information on the financial side from a business perspective and provides an up-to-date incremental financial situation regarding passenger billing.
The email exchange server software was installed at the IT Directorate in view of the fact that the emails previously used by the web hosting company were reverted as a result of the e-ticketing client of Pakistan Railways not being able to reach this office in case of complaint and right to a refund.
Apart from the above facility, email addresses have also been allotted to Pakistan Railways officials so that they can communicate through the email of officials within or outside the organization, he added.
They have developed court case software for the entire Pakistan railway system. The software has now been developed and deployed in consumer premises across all divisions. In the light of the current scenario, the legal department is facilitated to be informed about all the essential components of every legal case and the progress so far.
