Thaindian News

New Delhi, April 12 (IANS) Delhi Metro is training over 200 personnel in customer relations to help commuters, including foreign tourists expected during the Commonwealth Games in 2010.
The Delhi Metro carries an average of 850,000 people daily on its operational network spanning 74.56 km. There are around 97 stations at present.

However, ridership figures are expected to grow to 200,000 when the second phase of network construction is completed by the Commonwealth Games scheduled to be held in October next year, thus increasing the metro network to 190 kms. The number of stations would also increase to 144.

The Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) is creating a special cadre of employees trained in spoken English and communication skills who will be posted at Metro stations to greet and respond quickly to traveler inquiries and suggestions.

“A large number of foreign visitors, who are expected to use the Metro during the games, will greatly benefit from the customer relations personnel,” said DMRC spokesperson Anuj Dayal.

So far, the customer care centres at stations have been manned by junior station controllers. Now the DMRC intends to have personnel or “customer relations assistants” with specialised training for customer-handling.

The first batch of 86 employees has been posted at stations for getting hands-on experience, and the process to recruit the next batch of 192 customer relations assistants has also begun, Dayal said.

During a rigorous eight-week training at the Metro Training School at Shastri Park, a specialised agency will give them training in customer care, communication skills, handling public complaints, behavioural management, team building and spoken English. The personnel will also be imparted training in station management and other Metro-related tasks.