To ensure its success, the CMS was mapped to the processes used by the railways. The kiosks, for example, were only placed at 144 (out of 306) crew booking stations. These are stations that offer railway men accommodation or 'running rooms' between working sets (the only places it make sense to have kiosks since crewmen getting off a train need to rest.) These stations can normally be found at busy junctions or where a new division starts or there is a large loco shed.

Deciding where a crew-member disembarks a train for rest has to take into account where the next running room is -- complicating the CMS' job. Sometimes however, like on the Nagpur-Bilaspur route, crewmen work 7.5 hours -- 90 minutes more than the six-hour rule -- before they can access a running room. These delays have to be accounted for. "The CMS handles these. Overtime details are now recorded by the CMS," says Das.

The CMS also has to monitor training, medical and competency check-ups. Crew-staff cannot be scheduled on a 'link' if they are supposed to be in training or at an internal exam. The CMS will also block employees from going on duty if they are not medically fit or not properly trained. "Earlier there was a mechanism to find out whether a crew-member's training and medical reports were up-to-date but it was not a foolproof system. Since it was manual there was always scope for error," recalls Ganju.

Introducing this level of automation, however, did not come easy.

Railroading Is Not an Option