INTRODUCTION India is a land of diverse culture, and Railways play a key role in not only meeting the transport needs of the country, but also in binding together dispersed areas and promoting national integration. Indian Railways have emerged as the sinews of the Indian economy, and have reached out to bring together the great Indian family. Indian railway is a Central Government owned Railway Company of India, which owns and operates most of the country’s rail transport. Indian Railways has more than 64,215 kms of the track and 7,083 stations. It has the World’s fourth world’s largest network after those of the US, Russia and China. It carries 30 million passengers & .2.8 million tons of freight daily. Indian Railways, therefore, rightly occupy pride of place in the growth and development of the nation. Apart from normal trains connecting almost all part of the country, the Indian Railways also runs special luxury trains like the Palace on Wheels, Rajdhani Express, Shatabdi Express, Fairy Queen, etc.

STATEMENT OF PROBLEM Railways play a crucial role in the modern economy. This project is done to identify and analyze the level of satisfaction of the consumers and their problems faced in the railways. It is one among the high preferable means of transport by the people of India. But there are various problems faced by them in different aspects in journey.

OBJECTIVES
 To know the consumers awareness about the services provided by the railways.
 To study the consumer preferences towards railways.
 To know the consumer satisfaction about services of the rail ways
 To find out the various problems faced by the passengers.
 To find out the various areas where the improvement has been made immediately.
 To receive valuable complaints and suggested from the passengers.

SCOPE OF STUDY We would like to identify the consumer satisfaction level on railways. Through this study, we would like to highlight the difficulties faced by the consumers about the railway service. This research study would also be great help to the aims of the respondents to give feed back for improvement. The Coimbatore railway department comes to know about what the consumer preference is at present.

LIMITATION
 The study is confined within Coimbatore city only.
 The findings of the study vary from time to time.
 The sample size is very less compared to number of consumers in Coimbatore. Hence a complete study cannot be analyzed.

RESEARCH METHODOLOGY
AREA OF THE STUDY Area of study refers to Coimbatore City which is known for development in all sectors.
SOURCE OF DATA The study has used Primary data and Secondary data which are collected from 250 respondents through questionnaire directly. The questionnaire is prepared in such a way that it is simple and understandable to the Consumers.
SAMPLE DESIN The study is conducted from 250 respondents using convenient random sampling method.
TOOLS FOR ANALYSIS
Primary data has been analyzed using the Percentage Analysis Method.

CHAPTER SCHEMES
Chapter 1: Introduction and Design of the Study The chapter presents the Introduction, Statement of the problem, Objectives of the study, Methodology of the study and Limitation of the study.
Chapter 2: Theoretical framework of the study This chapter deals with the Theoretical Framework of Information collected from the websites and books.
Chapter 3: Analysis and Interpretation This chapter deals with the Analysis and Interpretation of the data collected.
Chapter 4: Findings, Suggestions and Conclusion This chapter provides brief summary of Findings, Suggestions and Conclusion of the study.

CHAPTER 2
INDIAN RAILWAYS - AN OVERVIEW

CONSUMER An individual who buys products or services for personal use and not for manufacture or resale is called as consumer. A consumer is someone who can make the decision whether to purchase an item or not at the store, and someone who can be influenced by marketing and advertisements. Any time someone goes to a store and purchases a toy, shirt, beverage, or anything else, they are making that decision as a consumer.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN CUSTOMER AND CONSUMER The difference between a consumer and a customer is a very thin line. Aside from both terms being used frequently in the field of business, these words are often used in a similar context, which adds up to the confusion. By definition, a customer is someone who buys services or goods from someone else while a consumer is someone that consumes a certain product or commodity. In the concept of Economics, a consumer can either be a single person or an entire organization that uses a certain type of service. Consumers can also be any form of organism that devours or eats something, as in the field of Science and Ecology. According to the 1986 Consumers Protections Act of India, “A consumer can also be somebody who uses goods and services for a living”. In addition, the mere intent of buying goods makes you a consumer.

CONSUMER PERCEPTION In general psychological terms, perception is our ability to make some kind of sense of reality from the external sensory stimuli to which we are exposed. Several factors can influence our perception, causing it to change in certain ways. For example, repeated exposure to one kind of stimuli can either make us oversensitive or desensitized to it. Additionally, the amount of attention we focus on something can cause a change in our perception of it
INDIAN RAILWAYS
HISTORY
Indian Railways are the largest rail network in Asia and the world's second largest under one management. Criss-crossing the country's vast geographical spread, Indian Railways are a multi-gauge, multi-traction system covering over 1 lakh track kilometres,300 yards, 2300 good sheds and 700 repair shops. Its rolling stock fleet includes 8300 locomotives, 39,000 coaching vehicles and 3.5 lakh freight wagons. Its work force is 1.65 million and it runs some 11,000 trains every day, including 7,000 passenger trains. Freight traffic on Indian Railways has registered an impressive growth in the last four decades. Increases in the last few years have been particularly striking. From a mere 93 million tones of originating freight traffic in 1950-51, Railways carried nearly 376 million tons in 1992-93, an increase of 304%. This has been despite the ever increasing pressure of passenger traffic which increased during the same period from 1.28 billion passengers carried to 4.2 billion, to make an Indian Railways (IR) a leading passenger carrying railway in the world. The outlook for 2000 AD is an increase of another 63% in freight and 60% in passenger traffic. Harnessing the potential of these vast and widespread assets to meet the growing traffic needs of developing economy is no easy task and makes IR a complex cybernetic system. Over the years, Railways have built up an elaborate and well established manual information system to help them monitoring their moving assets. Supported by a dedicated voice communications network, it collects and transmits information from the remotest corners of the country to control centres, at the highest level. The size and complexity of their operations, growing traffic and changing technologies, placed inevitably a heavy burden on this manual information system. Need for its modernization was therefore felt for some time.
RAILWAY ZONE Indian Railways is divided into zones, which are further sub-divided into divisions. The number of zones in Indian Railways increased from six to eight in 1951, nine in 1952, and finally 17 in 2010. Each zonal railway is made up of a certain number of divisions, each having a divisional headquarters. There are a total of sixty-seven divisions. The Delhi Metro is being built and operated by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation Limited (DMRC). The Government of India and the Government of Delhi jointly set up a company called the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) on March 5, 1995 with E.Sreedharan as the managing director. He is Padma Vibhushan awardee (Second highest honor) by Government of India[17] It is no way connected to Indian Railways. Each of the seventeen zones, including Kolkata Metro, is headed by a General Manager (GM) who reports directly to the Railway Board. The zones are further divided into divisions under the control of Divisional Railway Managers (DRM). The divisional officers of engineering, mechanical, electrical, signal and telecommunication, accounts, personnel, operating, commercial and safety branches report to the respective Divisional Manager and are in charge of operation and maintenance of assets. Further down the hierarchy tree are the Station Masters who control individual stations and the train movement through the track territory under their stations.

COIMBATORE JUNCTION Coimbatore Junction (Tamil: கோயம்புத்தூர் சந்திப்பு) known as Kovai Junction, is the railway station located in heart of the city Coimbatore. The station code is CBE. It has 6 platforms. It is a Major Railway junction in South India and the second busiest railway station in Tamil Nadu in terms of passenger movement. A few of India's long distance trains pass through Coimbatore junction. Though it has the tag Junction, technically it is not a junction; it is only a railway station. The real junctions are located at Coimbatore North Junction (2.6 km away from CBE on the northern side), Podanur (5.8 km away from CBE on the southern side), Irugur (16 km from CBE on eastern side)and Peelamedu (8 km from CBE on Western side).
Facilities
 There is a food plaza maintained by the IRCTC located on platforms 1 and 2. Platform 1, 2, 3 and 4 have platform refreshment stalls. Waiting rooms are present in platforms 1 and 2. A fruit stall is available at the end of platforms 1 and 2.
 There are many tea and milk parlors and telephone booths are present in platforms 1, 2, 3, and 4 and on the front entrance.
 There is also a cyber-cafe on the front side entrance. An Air-conditioned Hall is Available in the eastern Entrance. They charge Rs 15 per hour per Passenger
 The Reservation charts are now displayed in Television screens near the enquiry counter.
 There are reservation facilities in the main building of the junction.

REVENUE Coimbatore Junction alone yields 1,095 million rupees a year, which yields the second highest revenue in Southern Railway, accounting for 45% of its divisional income.
Important originating Trains
• Cheran Express
• Nilgiri Express -12 Slip Coaches are added.
• Kovai Express
• Intercity Express
• Kurla Express
• Kongu Express
• Jaipur Express
• Rajkot Express
• Nagercoil Express
• Chennai Duronto Express
• Mayiladudurai Janshatabdi Express
• Tirupathi Express
• Tutucorin Express

Passenger Trains
• Nagercoil Passenger
• Mangalore Passenger
• Erode Passengers
• Cannanore Passenger
• Mettupalayam Passengers
• Palakkad Passengers
• Shoranur Passengers
• Trichur Passenger

Important trains passing through Coimbatore
• Ahilyanagari Express
• Nilgiri Express (connection to Nilgiri Mountain Railway to Ooty)
• Kerala Express
• West Coast Express
• Sabari Express
• Island Express
• Jayanthi Janatha Express
• Dhanbad/Tata-Allepy Express
• Trivandrum Express
• Chennai Egmore Express
• Garib Rath Express
• Millennium Express
• Raptisagar Express
• Howrah Express
• Guwahathi Express
• Patna Express
• Himsagar Express
• Navyug Express
• Tea Garden Express
• Shalimar Express

Important trains by-passing Coimbatore and stopping at Podanur
Podanur is in Outskirts of Coimbatore City.
• Alleppey Express
• Mangalore Mail
• Mangalore-Chennai Express (Weekly 6 days)
• Ernakulum-Bangalore Express (Bi-Weekly)
• Mangalore-Pondicherry Weekly Express
• Tirunelveli -Ballarpur Weekly Superfast Express
• Kochuveli-Yeshwanthpur Weekly Express
• Kochuveli-Hubli Weekly Express
• Trivandram-Mumbai CST Weekly Express
• Trichy-Mangalore weekly express All the special trains which do not pass through Coimbatore have a stop at Podanur. Passengers alighting at the Podanur railway station can take a bus or taxi to Coimbatore which is just a 25 minutes drive from Podanur.

Trains by-passing Coimbatore with no stop at Podanur
• Chennai-Trivandrum Mail
• Chennai-Trivandrum weekly express
• Kannur-Yeshwanthpur Daily express
Passengers to Coimbatore can either get down at either Erode Junction (98 km to the east) or Palakkad Junction (55 km to the west) and change trains.

Demand for Additional Trains The people of Coimbatore have been demanding some new trains. Organisations like CODISSIA, SIMA, COINDIA, RAAC, KURAL, CII, CVC, CPA etc. have been consistently voicing their requests for new trains.
Some demands for new trains are:
• Daily trains to Bangalore during the day and night
• Daily trains to Indore and Jabalpur
• Train to Indore as Ahilyanagari Express is the only connection for Central India and that is also weekly.
• An overnight train to Tirupathi
• Additional trains to Chennai
• A daily train to New Delhi
• Weekly trains to Howrah
• South bound trains to Tirunelveli, Tenkasi via Madurai and Rameswaram via Trichy.
• Connectivity to Konkan Region as lot of Konkani's work in Coimbatore.
• Daily trains to interior parts of Karnataka like Hubli, Belagum, Shimoga etc.
• Connection to Jodhpur by new train or by extending Jaipur Express.
• Overnight connection from Trivandram.

CHAPTER 3
ANALYSIS AND INTERPRETATION
ANALYSIS
Analysis is the process of breaking a complex topic or substance into smaller parts to gain a better understanding of it. It is a process of inspecting, cleaning, transforming and modeling data with the goal of highlighting useful information, suggesting conclusion, and supporting decision making. In order to study the consumer attitude towards online reservation, a structured questionnaire which consists of 28 questions covering various factors was prepared. Samples of 250respondents were collected from different parts of Coimbatore city for the purpose of the study. The respondents were asked to fill-up the questionnaire and their opinions were consolidated and suitable tables were prepared. PERCENTAGE ANALYSIS Percentage analysis is used to represent raw streams of data as a percentage for better understanding of collected data. Percentage analysis consists of reducing a series of related amounts to a series of percentages of a given base. It is a substitute for sound judgment and also an analytical tool.
CONVENIENCE SAMPLING TECHNIQUE Convenience sampling generally assumes a population in which one person is pretty much like another. Convenience sampling is also known as Opportunity Sampling, Accidental Sampling. Convenience sampling is a non-probability sampling method.

TABLE NO. 1
Age Group of the Respondents

SL.NO
AGE GROUP
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 15-20 Years 171 68.4%
2 21-30 Years 62 24.8%
3 31-40 Years 11 4.4%
4 Above 40 Years 6 2.4% TOTAL 250 100%

The above table reveals that 68.4% of respondents are in the age group of 15-20 years, 24.8% of respondents are in the age group of 21-30 years, 4.4% of respondents are in the age group of 31-40 years and 2.4% of respondents are above 40 years.

Majority of the respondents are in the age group of 15-20 years. (68.4%)

TABLE NO.2
Gender of the Respondents

SL.NO
GENDER
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Male 114 45.6%
2 Female 136 54.4% TOTAL 250 100%

The above table shows that 54.4% of the respondents are female and 45.6% of respondents are male.

Majority of the respondents are female. (54.4%)

TABLE NO.3
Education Qualification of the Respondents

SL.NO
EDUCATION QUALIFICATION
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 School Level 19 7.6
2 College Level 191 76.4
3 Professional 31 12.4
4 Others 9 3.6 TOTAL 250 100

From the above table it is concluded that 7.6% of the respondents belongs to school level, 76.4.2% of respondents belongs to college level, 12.4% of respondents belongs to professional level, and 3.6% of respondents have no formal education.

Majority of the respondents are belongs to college level. (76.4%)

TABLE NO. 4
Marital Status of the Respondents

SL.NO
MARITAL STATUS
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Single 206 82.4
2 Married 44 17.6 TOTAL 250 100

The above table reveals that 82.4% of the respondents are unmarried and 17.6% of respondents are married.

Majority of the respondents are unmarried. (82.4%)

TABLE NO.5
The Occupation of the Respondents

SL.NO
OCCUPATION
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Business 72 28.8
2 Agriculture 18 7.2
3 Profession 31 12.4
4 Others 129 51.6 TOTAL 250 100

The above table reveals that 51.6% of respondents are students, 28.8% of respondents are doing business, 12% of respondents are professionals, and 7.2% of respondents are engaged in agriculture.

Majority of the respondents are students. (51.6%)

TABLE: 6
Family size of the Respondents

SL.NO
FAMILY MEMBERS
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Two 15 6
2 Three 22 8.8
3 Four 68 27.2
4 Above Four 145 58 TOTAL 250 100

From the above table it is concluded that 58% of respondents have more than three members in the family, 27.2% of respondents have three members in the family, 8.8% of respondents have two members in the family and 6% of respondents have a single member in the family.

Majority of the respondents have more than three members in the family. (58%)

TABLE NO.7 Number of earning members in family

SL.NO
EARNING MEMBERS
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 One 122 48.8
2 Two 97 38.8
3 Three 16 6.4
4 Above Three 15 6 TOTAL 250 100 From the above table it is concluded that 48.8% of respondents have 1 earning member in the family, 38.8% of respondents have 2 earning members in the family, 6.4% of respondents have 3 earning members in the family and 6% of respondents have more than 3 earning members in the family.

Majority of the respondents have one earning member in the family. (48.8%)

TABLE NO.8
Family Monthly Income of the Respondents

SL.NO
MONTHLY INCOME
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Below Rs.10,000 36 14.4
2 Rs.10,001-20,000 45 18
3 Rs.20,001-30,000 35 14
4 Above Rs.30,000 134 53.6 TOTAL 250 100

The above table reveals that 53.6% of the respondent’s family monthly income are above 30,000, 18% of respondent’s family monthly income is between 10,001-20,000, 14.4% of respondent’s family monthly income is below 10,000, and 14% of the respondent’s family monthly income is between 20,001-30000.

Majority of the respondent’s monthly income is above 30,000. (53.6%)

TABLE NO. 9
Average train travel in a year

SL.NO
NUMBER OF TIMES TRAVELLED
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 1-3 Times 77 30.8
2 3-5 Times 58 23.2
3 5-10 Times 62 24.8
4 >10 Times 53 21.2 TOTAL 250 100

The above table reveals that 30.8% of the respondents are travelled 1-3 times, 24.8% of respondents are travelled 5-10 times, 23.2% of respondents are travelled 3-5 times, and 21.2% of the respondents are travelled more than 10 times.

Majority of the respondents have travelled around 1-3 times. (30.8%)

TABLE NO.10
Preference to get the ticket

SL.NO
MODE OF GETTING TICKETS
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Counter Reservation 107 42.8
2 Online Booking 103 41.2
3 Travel Agencies 30 12
4 Others 10 4 TOTAL 250 100

The above table reveals that 42.8% of the respondents are selected the mode counter reservation for getting tickets. 41.2% of respondents are selected the mode online booking for getting tickets , and 12% of the respondents are selected the mode travel agencies for getting tickets, and 4% of the respondents are selected others.

Majority of the respondents prefer counter reservation for getting tickets. (42.8%)

EXHIBIT NO:1
Preference to get the ticket

TABLE NO.11
Satisfaction with the availability of counters

SL.NO
SATISFACTION OF COUNTERS
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Highly Satisfied 30 12
2 Satisfied 175 70
3 Dissatisfied 35 14
4 Highly Dissatisfied 10 4 TOTAL 250 100

The table reveals that 70% of the respondents are highly satisfied, 14% of respondents are satisfied, 12% of respondents are dissatisfied, and 4% of the respondents are highly dissatisfied.

Majority of the respondents are Satisfied with counters. (70%)

TABLE NO. 12
Usage of online reservation

SL.NO
PROBLEMS
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Yes 170 68
2 No 80 32 TOTAL 250 100

The above table reveals that 68% of the respondents have used online reservation, and 32% of the respondents have not used online reservation.

Majority of the respondents are using online reservation. (68%)

TABLE NO. 13
Satisfaction level in online reservation

SL.NO
SATISFACTION LEVEL
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Highly Satisfied 56 29.3
2 Satisfied 114 59.7
3 Dissatisfied 17 8.9
4 Highly Dissatisfied 4 2.1 TOTAL 191 100

The above table states that 59.7% of the respondents are satisfied, 29% of respondent are highly satisfied, 8.9% of the respondents are dissatisfied, and 2.1% of the respondents are highly dissatisfied in using online reservation.

Majority of the respondents are satisfied in using online reservation. (59.7%)

TABLE NO. 14
Opinion on the ticket fares

SL.NO
FEEL ABOUT TICKET FARES
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Very High 34 13.6
2 High 78 31.2
3 Moderate 132 52.8
4 Low 6 2.4 TOTAL 250 100

The above table indicates that 52.8% of the respondents are feeling moderate, 31.2% of respondents are feeling high, 13.6% of respondents are feeling very high, and 2.4% of the respondents are feeling low about railway ticket fares.

Majority of the respondents are feeling moderate about ticket fares. (52.8%)

EXHIBIT NO:2
Opinion on the ticket fares

TABLE NO.15 Usage of Tatkal quota for reserving tickets

SL.NO
PROBLEMS
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Yes 115 46
2 No 135 54 TOTAL 250 100

From the above table, it is clear that 46% of the respondents are used tatkal quota, and 54% of the respondents are not used tatkal quota.

Majority of the respondents are not used tatkal quota. (54%)

TABLE NO.16

SL.NO CATEGORY OF TATKAL QUOTA NO. OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 Senior Citizen 34 29.8
2 Handicaps 17 14.9
3 Bulk Booking 37 32.5
5 Railway Employees 18 15.8
6 Others 8 7 TOTAL 114 100
Category of Tatkal quota preferred

The above table states that 32.5% of the respondents uses bulk booking quota, 29.8% of respondents uses senior citizen quota, 15.8% of respondents uses railway employees quota, 14.9% of the respondents uses handicaps quota, and 7% of respondents uses other quotas.

Majority of the respondents uses bulk booking quota. (32.5%)

TABLE NO.17
Type of class preferred to travel

SL.NO
TYPE OF CLASS PREFERRED
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Two Tire A/C 92 36.8
2 Three Tire 53 21.2
3 Second Class 37 14.8
4 Sleeper Class 58 23.2
5 General Compartment 10 4 TOTAL 250 100

The above table reveals that 36.8% of the respondents chosen two tire A/C, 23.2% of respondents chosen sleeper class, 21.2% of respondents chosen three tire, 14.8% of the respondents chosen second class, and 4% of the respondents chosen general compartment.

Majority of the respondents have chosen two tire A/C class. (23.2%)

EXHIBIT NO:3
Type of class preferred to travel

TABLE NO.18
Offers availed by respondents

SL.NO
PARTICULARS
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Yes 98 39.2
2 No 152 60.8 TOTAL 250 100

From the table, it shows that 39.2% of the respondents have availed of offers and 60.8% of the respondents are not availed of any offers.

Majority of the respondents are not availed of offers. (60.8%)

TABLE NO.19
Kind of offers availed

SL.NO
KINDS OF OFFERS
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Seasonal Offer 37 38.9
2 Festival Offer 40 42.1
3 Package Offer 15 15.8
4 Others 3 3.2 TOTAL 95 100

The above table reveals that 42.1% of the respondents uses festival offer, 38.9% of respondents uses seasonal offer, 15.8% of respondents uses package offer, and 3.2% of the respondents uses other offers.

Majority of the respondents uses festival offers. (42.1%)

TABLE NO.20
Preference to have food while travel
SL.NO PROBLEMS NO. OF RESPONDENTS PERCENTAGE
1 Yes 147 58.8
2 No 103 41.2 TOTAL 250 100

The above table concludes that 58.8% of the respondents are preferred to get foods in train, and 41.2% of the respondents are not preferred to get foods in train during travelling.

Majority of the respondents prefer to get food in train during travelling. (58.8%)

TABLE NO.21
Preferred source to get food

SL.NO
WAYS TO GET FOOD
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 IRCTC Service 65 44.2
2 Refreshment status at junction 67 45.6
3 Platform Sellers 6 4.1
4 Others 9 6.1 TOTAL 147 100

The above table indicates that 45.6% of the respondents use Refreshment status at junction, 44.2% of respondents uses IRCTC services, 6.1% of respondents uses other ways, and 4.1% of the respondents uses Platform sellers to get foods during travelling.

Majority of the respondents uses Refreshment status at junction to get foods during travel. (45.6%)

TABLE NO.22
Ratings on quality and quantity of IRCTC services

SL.NO
Quality &quantity of IRCTC
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Excellent 20 27.8
2 Good 28 38.9
3 Fair 18 25
4 Poor 6 8.3 TOTAL 72 100

The above table reveals that 38.9% of the respondents feels good, 27.8% of respondents feels excellent, 25% of respondents feels fair, and 8.3% of the respondents feels poor about quality and quantity of IRCTC.

Majority of the respondents feels good about the quality and quantity of IRCTC. (58.9%)

TABLE NO.23 Opinion on the punctuality of trains

SL.NO
PUNCTUALITY OF TRAIN
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Quick 24 9.6
2 Moderate 132 52.8
3 Delay 62 24.8
4 Reaching at time 32 12.8 TOTAL 250 100

The above table reveals that 52.8% of the respondents feel moderate, 24.8% of respondents feels delay, 12.8% of respondents feels reaching at time, and 9.6% of the respondents feels quick about the punctuality of train.

Majority of the respondents are moderately satisfied with the punctuality of trains. (52.8%)

EXHIBIT NO:4
Opinion on the punctuality of trains

TABLE NO.24
Awareness about the alarm in trains

SL.NO
PROBLEMS
NUMBER
PERCENTAGE
1 Yes 174 69.6
2 No 76 30.4 TOTAL 250 100

The above table reveals that 69.6% of the respondents have the awareness about the alarm and 30.4% of the respondents have no awareness about the alarm in the trains.

Majority of the respondents have awareness about the alarm in train. (69.6%)

TABLE NO.25
Satisfaction on “help desk” at railway station

SL.NO
“HELP DESK” SATISFACTION
NO. OF RESPONDENTS
PERCENTAGE
1 Highly Satisfied 31 12.4
2 Satisfied 164 65.6
3 Dissatisfied 43 17.2
4 Highly Dissatisfied 12 4.8 TOTAL 250 100

The above table reveals that 65.6% of the respondents are satisfied, 17.2% of respondents are dissatisfied, 12.4% of respondents are highly satisfied, and 4.8% of the respondents are highly dissatisfied about the “HELP DESK” in the trains.

Majority of the respondents have awareness about the "HELP DESK” in train. (65.6%)

TABLE NO.26
Opinion on the different facilities available at station

SL.NO
OPTION
EXCELLENT
GOOD
FAIR
POOR
TOTAL
SOURCE
1 Cleanliness at station 160 159 140 87 546 2.73
2 Waiting hall 84 219 210 51 564 2.82
3 Catering Service 72 204 176 76 528 2.64
4 Safety 108 213 178 63 562 2.81
5 Comfort 132 261 182 39 614 3.07
6 Electronic Items 108 198 178 68 552 2.76

Interpretation From this above table, It reveals that the 160 respondents feels excellent, 159 respondents feels Good, 140 respondents feels fair and 87 respondents feels poor about the cleanliness at station. In the same way, 84 respondents feels excellent, 219 respondents feels good, 210 respondents feels fair, and 51 respondents feels poor about waiting hall. Then, 72 respondents feels excellent, 204 respondents feels good, 176 respondents feels fair, and 76 respondents feels poor about the catering services. Then, 108 respondents feels excellent, 213 respondents feels good, 178 respondents feels fair, and 63 respondents feels poor about the safety in railways. In the same way, 132 respondents feel excellent, 261 respondents feel good, and 182 respondents feel fair and 39 respondents about the comfort of the railways. At last, there are 108 respondents feels excellent, 198 respondents feels good, 178 respondents feels fair, and 68 respondents feels poor about the electronic items.
Majority of the respondents feels excellent about cleanliness at station, good about the waiting hall, good about catering services, good about safety, good about comfort and also good about electronic items at the station.

EXHIBIT NO:5
Opinion on the cleanliness at the station

EXHIBIT NO:6
Opinion on Catering Service at station

EXHIBIT NO:7
Opinion on Waiting Hall at station

CHAPTER IV
FINDINGS, SUGGESTION AND CONCLUSION

FINDINGS:
Majority of the respondents are in the age group of 15-20 years. (68.4%)
Majority of the respondents are female. (54.4%)
Majority of the respondents are belongs to college level. (76.4%)
Majority of the respondents are unmarried. (82.4%)
Majority of the respondents are students. (51.6%)
Majority of the respondents have more than three members in the family. (58%)
Majority of the respondents have one earning member in the family. (48.8%)
Majority of the respondent’s monthly income is above 30,000. (53.6%)
Majority of the respondents have travelled around 1-3 times. (30.8%)
Majority of the respondents prefer counter reservation for getting tickets. (42.8%)
Majority of the respondents are Satisfied with counters. (70%)
Majority of the respondents are using online reservation. (68%)
Majority of the respondents are satisfied in using online reservation. (59.7%)
Majority of the respondents are feeling moderate about ticket fares. (52.8%)
Majority of the respondents are not used Tatkal quota. (54%)
Majority of the respondents uses bulk booking quota. (32.5%)
Majority of the respondents have chosen two tire A/C class. (23.2%)
Majority of the respondents are not availed of offers. (60.8%)
Majority of the respondents uses festival offers. (42.1%)
Majority of the respondents prefer to get food in train during travelling. (58.8%)
Majority of the respondents uses Refreshment status at junction to get foods during travel. (45.6%)
Majority of the respondents feels good about the quality and quantity of IRCTC. (58.9%)
Majority of the respondents are moderately satisfied with the punctuality of trains. (52.8%)
Majority of the respondents have awareness about the alarm in train. (69.6%)
Majority of the respondents have awareness about the "HELP DESK” in train. (65.6%)

SUGGESTIONS:
• Cleanliness must be maintained.
• Improvement in service.
• Wash room should be cleaned.
• Food quality should be improved.
• Hygienic foods must be supply.
• Fairs for reservation should be reduced.
• Security level should be increased.

CONCLUSION: From this project, it is analyzed that majority of the respondents are satisfied with the service provided by the railways. Some of the respondents feels that the trains should be punctual and also the foods provided in train should be hygienic. They want railway station to be cleaned and maintained well.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

 www.irctc.com
 www.indianrailways.com
 www.southernrailways.com
 www.wikipedia.com
 www.railwayministry.gov.in

Magazines
 Railway system in India

APPENDIX – I
A STUDY ON CONSUMER PERCEPTION AND SATISFACTION TOWARDS RAILWAYS
1. Name:
2. Age group: (A) 15-20 years (b) 21-30 years (c) 31-40 years (d) Above 40 years
3. Gender: (a) Male (b) Female
4. Educational Qualification: (a) School level (b) College level (c) Professional level (d) Students
5. Marital status: (a) Single (b) Married
6. Occupation: (a) Agriculture (b) Business (c) Profession (d) Employment
7. Family Members: (a)Two (b) Three (c) Four (d) Above Four
8. Numbers of earning member in family: (a) One (b) Two (c) Three (d) Above Three
9. Family Monthly Income: (a) Below 10,000 (b) Rs.10, 001-20,000 (c) Rs.20, 001-30,000 (d) Above Rs.30, 000
10. How many times have you travelled in train on an average year? (a) 1-3 Times (b) 3-5 Times (c) 5-10 Times (d) >10 Times
11. How do you get the tickets? (a) Counter Reservation (b) Online Booking (c) Travel Agencies (d) Others Specify_______________
12. How satisfied are you with the availability of counters? (a) Highly Satisfied (b) Satisfied (c) Dissatisfied (d) Highly Dissatisfied
13. Have you used online reservation? (a) Yes (b) No
14. If Yes, How satisfied are you with the online reservation? (a) Highly Satisfied (b) Satisfied (c) Dissatisfied (d) Highly Dissatisfied
15. What do you feel about the ticket fares? (a) Very High (b) High (c) Moderate (d) Low
16. Have you ever used Tatkal Quota for reserving train tickets? (a) Yes (b) No
17. If yes, under which category have you availed the Quota? (a) Senior Citizen (b) Handicaps (c) Bulk Booking (d) Railway Employees (e) Others Specify______________
18. Which class do you typically prefer to travel? (a) Two Tire A/C (b) Three Tire (c) Second Class (d) Sleeper Class (e) General Compartment
19. Have you been availed of any offers for train travelling? (a) Yes (b) No
20. If yes, what kind of offers you has been availed? (a) Seasonal Offer (b) Festival Offer (c) Package Offer (d) Others (specify)_________________
21. Do you prefer to have food during travel in train? (a) Yes (b) No
22. If yes, in what way do you prefer to get the food? (a) IRCTC Service (b) Refreshment status at junction (c) Platform Sellers (d) Others specify________________
23. If IRCTC, rate the quality and quantity of food offered by them? (a) Excellent (b) Good (c) Fair (d) Poor 24. What do you feel about punctuality of trains on time? (a) Quick (b) Moderate (c) Delay (d) Reaching at time
25. Are you aware of alarm in train for emergency purpose? (a) Yes (b) No
26. How satisfied are you with “HELP DESK” at the railway station? (a) Highly Satisfied (b) Satisfied (c) Dissatisfied (d) Highly Dissatisfied
27. Rate the following according to your opinion?

OPINION
EXCELLENT
GOOD
FAIR
POOR
Cleanliness at Station
Waiting hall
Catering Service
Safety
Comfort
Electronic Items

28. Your valuable complaints & suggestions: __________________________________________________
THANK YOU..!!