Western Railway Launches Online Coolie Booking At These Select Stations

In a big relief for train passengers with large and heavy luggage, the Indian Railways has started a new online service called "Online Coolie (Sahayak) Booking Service." This service can be used through the website www.gofoodieonline.com/online-coolie-booking. Western Railway (WR) is the first to start this service at Valsad station, and it will soon be available at Vasai and Vapi stations as well, as per a Hindustan Times (HT) report.

According to railway officials, this service will help passengers save both time and money. It will also remove the need to bargain with porters over the price. The service is aimed at making travel smooth and stress-free, especially for people carrying heavy luggage.

Photo Credit: PTI

"This new service is being introduced at stations where there are no licensed porters already available for public use," said an official from Western Railway. "The charges will be the same as those of licensed porters or even lower. An agency has been appointed to provide the porters as per demand."

Passengers can book a porter through the website, by calling the helpline numbers 7229931116 or 9119222762, or by scanning a QR code at the station. After booking, they will get a message on WhatsApp with the name and contact number of the porter assigned to them. The service allows passengers to choose their boarding and de-boarding stations during the booking.

The system is linked with real-time train updates. If a train is delayed, the porter will be informed, so they can adjust their timings accordingly. The service is especially useful for families, senior citizens, people with disabilities (Divyangjan), and patients.

Vineet Abhishek, Chief Public Relations Officer of Western Railway, said, "This service has been introduced to meet the needs of passengers at stations without licensed porters. It is a first-of-its-kind initiative by the Mumbai Division of Western Railway."

Subhash Gupta, President of the Rail Yatri Parishad, welcomed the move and said that the service will be very helpful for long-distance travellers. He also said that Indian Railways should keep an eye on how well the porters are performing once the service is in use.

Western Railway has also set up a system where passengers can give feedback through WhatsApp, to ensure better service quality in future.