In a first of its kind initiative in the Salem Division of the Southern Railways, the famous Nilgiri Express, also known as the Blue Mountain Express, that plies between Mettupalayam and Chennai, is getting its first ‘Train Captain’.

According to an official from the Salem Division, three train captains have been nominated for the train no. 12671/12672. “It has been done with a view to have a single point of contact for all sorts of guidance, assistance and grievance redressal for onboard passengers,” the official said.

Other trains in the Southern Railways already have such a facility.

The official further added that Travelling Ticket Examiners R Rathish (7904557219), S Dinesh Kumar (9600425860) and A Sandeep (8681844886) have been nominated for the position of train captain with effect from Sunday.

The names of the train captains will be displayed in the reservation charts in the coaches. “There are also plans to send the numbers of the train captain to the passengers on board via text messages in the near future,” said an official.

Passengers can also contact Railway Helpline No. 138 to know the details about the train captain.

“The train captain will be overall in charge of the train from end to end and will be responsible for ensuring passenger amenities throughout the train including availability of water, cleanliness of coaches and toilets, working of electrical fittings such as fan, light, mobile charging points, etc,” officials informed.

The train captain will be addressing the grievance of the passengers immediately and also take it to higher officials in case of bigger issues.