A methodology for component level improvement of passenger facilities at the Howrah Railway Station in India.

Abstract

Purpose

Purpose: Discuss a methodology to evaluate the component level contributions for individual attributes of service quality at Indian Railway Stations. This can be used towards prioritizing the railway station facilities for their improvements that will lead to higher passenger satisfaction.

Design/methodology/approach

Methodology: Individual component level analysis has been carried out for the different attributes with an aim to improve service quality through passenger satisfaction study (user perspective). The component level analysis is Step II subsequent to Step I that determined the degree of dissatisfaction of passengers at attribute level.

Findings

Findings: It is found that ‘adequacy’, ‘visibility of the system’, and ‘time of travel’ are the key components to be addressed to improve satisfaction in security system having 52% variance in response explained through these components. Similarly ‘functional amenities’, ‘adequate station furniture’ and ‘sanitation’ explain 49% of variance of attribute passenger amenities.

Research limitations/implications

Research limitations: The work is limited to the subjective evaluation of the physical facilities and functional services of a railway station. Several other aspects like managerial, behavioral are not considered.

Originality/value

Originality/Value: The analysis helps in understanding the components of attributes that contribute to satisfaction of passengers at an Indian Railway Station. Evaluating service quality through degree of dissatisfaction measure in public domain is a method with the advantages of comparison between stations.

Citation

Gupta, S. and Datta, R. (2016), "A methodology for component level improvement of passenger facilities at the Howrah Railway Station in India.", The TQM Journal, Vol. 28 No. 3. https://doi.org/10.1108/TQM-03-2013-0037