BRM Research Report on

“Assessing
the customer
satisfaction
towards
service quality
of Indian
Railways: A
case study on
Indian
railway.”
 Sr.
Name (Group-11) MBA-CET-2 UID No.
No.

1 Saket Rajendra Kamble 2022-2312-0001-0017

2 Udhav Agarwal 2022-2712-0001-0014

3 Rutik Ravindra Sakharkar 2022-2312-0001-0015
4 Vipul Chaudhari  

Submitted to: Dr. Nilesh Kate

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

It is the matter of pleasure of acknowledgement by in debtedness to our professor Dr. Nilesh

kate sir who helped us lot by teaching the right methods of doing business research. He also
helped us how to conduct the research, not only he taught us various ways to collect and
analyse the data.

Our sincere earnest gratitude to Dr. Bharat , Director of PUNE INSTITUTE OF

BUSINESS MANAGEMENT who gave us a chance of implying ourselves in such project
assignment. It is possible that theoretical knowledge with practical knowledge is an important
thing which is not possible without the support, guidance, motivation and inspiration
provided by different persons. Hence, our project bears the imprints of many people

We also thank the people who helped us by giving the answers of our questionnaires. They
helped us a lot in case of collecting a data. Apart of that we also thank all the people who was
the part of our research project. Thank you all to help us making this project.

Name of the students

Saket Kamble

Udhav Agarwal

Rutik Sakharkar

Vipul Chaudhari
Table of Contents
ACKNOWLEDGEMENT 2
Table of Contents 2
ABSTRACT 4
Problem Statement 4
Research Gap 4
Scope of Research 5
INTRODUCTION 6
LITERATURE REVIEW 7
OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH 9
Research Questions 9
Research Objectives 9
Research Variable 9
Research hypothesis: 10
RESEARCH DESIGN/ METHODOLOGY 12
Sampling Design 12
Scaling Technique 13
DATA COLLECTION & ANALYSIS 14
Data Collection 14
Data Analysis 14
Conclusion 21
Questionnaire 21
LIMITATION AND CONCLUSION 24
Limitations 24
Conclusion 24
LEARNING OUTCOMES 25
References 25
 ABSTRACT

Customer satisfaction has been considered as being influenced by service quality. Different
scholars have taken into account various aspects of service quality. This study assess the
elements of Indian Railways' service quality. The exploratory design of the study makes use
of factor analysis to pinpoint the most crucial aspects of client satisfaction with service
calibre. An empirical research methodology was used, and a survey of travellers (or
consumers) was carried out. The results show that criteria—refreshments and behavioural
aspects being the most significant—are thought to be significant for influencing happiness
with railway stations. In the paper, managerial and theoretical consequences are identified,
analysed, and a model is suggested.

Problem Statement

As we know the Indian Railways are the fourth largest transportation system in the world and
almost fourth of India travels by this. So there are large number of difficulty faced by the
passengers daily, from booking ticket to boarding of train and after departure too.

Are Passengers getting difficulty on Platform of the Indian Railways.

Are Passengers getting any difficulty in buying Ticket form various methods Indian Railways
provide.

Are Passengers getting appropriate Catering Services while on Long Journey with Indian
Railways.

Research Gap

In the previous research papers researchers tried to find out consumer satisfaction on only
specific type of service provided by the Indian railways so there is biasness towards the
responses .

But in this research project identified three services which plays major role in the passengers
satisfaction and there expectation from those services define as follows:

● On platform services
 ● Ticketing services
● Catering and food services

Scope of Research

Identifying the services quality of the Indian railways has been studied many time previously
but the estimation has done only in the specific character of specific services which can be
the catering of any on station services only. Now in this Study we are assessing the four
services which are provided by Indian railways and level of their satisfaction to the
consumer.

First objective is to identify the observation of Passengers perception regarding service

qualities offered on railway plat form.

Second objective of project state the service quality and its satisfaction on the ticketing
services and its various modes. Which may vary with the demographic factors and consumer
behaviours and their choices to get ticket.

Third objective states factor affecting the food and catering services offered by Indian
railways and identify the various noncompliance of their services.
 INTRODUCTION

Indian railways are statutory body under the ownership of ministry of railways,
Government of India that operates India’s national railway system. It is fourth largest national
railway system in the world by size. usually, customers do not have much information about
the technical aspects of a service; therefore, functional quality becomes the major factor from
which to form perceptions of service quality, Also Largest population travel by Railways so it
is very difficult to provide best in class services to every passenger they are dealing with and
every day lots of passenger go through the unsatisfactory services. In this paper we are going
to study and assessment of various services and its quality wise ranking. Satisfaction from
service quality is usually evaluated in terms of technical quality and functional quality
(Gronroos, 1993).

Indian Railways moved 8.086 billion passengers and 1418.1 million tonnes of freight in 2020
and 2022, respectively. It covers 7,325 stations across India with 13,169 passenger trains
each day on both long-distance and local lines. The most typical trains, Mail or Express
trains, travel at an average speed of 50.6 km/h (31.4 mph). The typical speed of suburban
EMUs is 37.5 km/h (23.3 mph). The average speed of regular passenger trains, including
mixed trains, is 33.5 km/h (20.8 mph). The Vande Bharat Express runs at its maximum speed
of 180 km/h, however passenger train maximum speeds vary (110 mph).

In New Delhi, computerised reservations and ticketing were introduced in 1986. [25]
Between New Delhi and Jhansi, the first Shatabdi Express was launched in 1988. Bhopal was
then included. [26] The first self-printing ticket machine (SPTM) was unveiled in New Delhi
two years later. [27] A sleeping class (different from second class) and air-conditioned three-
tier coaches were introduced on IR in 1993. In September 1996, the CONCERT
computerised reservation system was implemented in New Delhi, Mumbai, and Chennai. At
Mumbai's Chhatrapati Shivaji Maharaj Terminus, coupon validating machines (CVMs) were
first installed in 1998. On April 18, 1999, the nationwide concierge system went into service.
The Indian Railways website went live in February 2000. [28] Through the website of the
Indian Railways Catering and Tourism Corporation, people can purchase reserved tickets.
(IRCTC) official website (www.irctc.co.in). On 3 August 2002, IR began online train
reservations and ticketing.
 LITERATURE REVIEW

The case study on “An analysis of performance of Indian railways” presented by

Hafiz w. Akram et.al. examine the financial performance, functioning and safety issues in
Indian railway and take measurement of operating ratio, capital output ratio and return on
logistics asset ratio. Found the incapacity of IR to go for coveted growth, expansion and
modernization. (Akram, 2021)

The case study on “How to improve catering services in Indian railways” presented
by Pranay Patil the research comes up with innovative solutions which can improve the face
of existing catering facilities of Indian railways. The research mainly focuses on the policies
implemented and approach followed by ministry of railway in the last 10 years. Found out
that there is large scope for research in field of ‘Quality and safety in supply chain’
maintaining the quality. (Patil, July 2012)

In order to find out the effect of the factors identified above on the overall satisfaction of
customers with Indian Railways, regression analysis was done with the six factor scores as
the independent variables and customer satisfaction with Indian Railways as a whole as the
dependent variable. (Agarwal, 2008)

It was observed that, punctuality and regularity are two important aspects to be maintained
during commutation. In many cases, commuters are ready to bear extra transportation costs to
get these two important services, the common people must also be aware of the maintenance
of the
railway assets and cooperation with the railway authority to improve their services. (Kundu,
2018)

Until all level of government in India devotes the necessary funding to expanding and
improving public transport, it will remain overcrowded, unsafe, undependable, unpleasant,
which would lead to even more serious congestion and pollution problem in Indian Cities.
(John Pucher, 2004)

The case study on “Role of Indian Railways in Promotion of Tourism in India: A

Case Study of Foreign Tourists” presented by Vinod Kumar & Dr. J.B. komaraiah comes up
with the context to study To study socio-economic status of foreign tourists travelling on
Indian Railways; &to examine the role of Indian Railways in promoting foreign tourism; also
to analyze the problems faced by foreign tourists travelling on Indian Railways. (komaraiah,
2014)

The case study on “Demographic Responses to Green Employee Relations (GERger) in

Indian Railways: A Methodological Exploration” presented by S. C. Das & Raj Kumar Singh
examine the influence of demographic variables on GERs i.e. age, gender, education &
qualification, experience & division; with the GER dimensions of union as a stakeholder,
opportunities to union, opportunities to employees, training to the union representatives,
solving environmental issues. (Singh, 2019)

The case study on “Customers’ quality perceptions towards online railway reservation
services in India: an exploratory study” presented by Ms. Arpita Khare & Ms. Meenakshi
Handa had been done to Identify the reliability of online reservation system, to identify the
assurance of system, & to identify the responsiveness of system, & also to identify the
tangibles of system. (Handa, 2011)
 OBJECTIVE OF RESEARCH
Researchers often are asked to respond to “problems” that managers needed to solve.
Applied research has a practical problem-solving emphasis. The problem-solving nature of
applied research means it is conducted to reveal answers to specific questions related to
action, performance, or policy needs. Pure research or basic research is also problem-
solving based, but in a different sense. It aims to solve perplexing questions or obtain new
knowledge of an experimental or theoretical nature that has little direct or immediate impact
on action, performance, or policy decisions.
In this research we are doing pure research or basic research in which the customer
satisfaction towards the service quality of Indian railway. As we know the problem statement
given above the research questions and main objectives of the research are as follows :

Research Questions

1. What are the determinants affecting Indian railway service quality?

2. What are the factors affecting service quality of food offered by Indian Railways.?
3. Which are the service quality initiative for Indian railway for improvement in their
service?

Research Objectives

1. Identifying the observations what passengers have experienced regarding service

qualities offered on the railway platforms.
2. Determinants of ticketing services offered by Indian railways.
3. Factors affecting service quality of food offered by Indian Railways.

Research Variable

The term variable is used as a synonym for construct, or the property being studied.
Researchers are most interested in relationships among variables. The independent variable
and dependent variable used in this research are given below.

Independent Variable (IV):

Platform Services: -

1. Staff Behaviour
 2. Security Self & Luggage
3. Platform Announcements
4. Waiting Rooms
5. Resting Seats
6. Water quality & Sanitization

Ticketing Services: -

1. Tangibility of ticketing
2. Reliability
3. Responsiveness

Catering Services: -

1. Cost of dish.
2. Packaging of dish
3. Clean Interior
4. Appealing nature of dish
5. Waiting time of dish
6. Menu diversity

Dependant Variable (DV):

1. Customer Satisfaction

Research hypothesis:

In research, a hypothesis serves several important functions:

• It guides the direction of the study.
• It identifies facts that are relevant and those that are not.
• It suggests which form of research design is likely to be most appropriate.
• It provides a framework for organizing the conclusions that result.

Following are Null hypothesis and Alternative hypothesis of important variable used in this
research:

Null hypothesis (Ho): There is no influence of staff behavior on Customer Satisfaction.

Alternate Hypothesis (Ha): There is influence of staff behavior on Customer Satisfaction.

Null hypothesis (Ho): There is no affect related to Security of self & luggage towards
Customer Satisfaction.

Alternate Hypothesis (Ha): There is an affect related to Security of self & luggage towards
Customer Satisfaction.

Null hypothesis (Ho): Platform announcements have no relation with Customer Satisfaction.

Alternate Hypothesis (Ha): Platform announcements have a good relation with Customer
Satisfaction.

Null hypothesis (Ho): The tangible nature of tickets will not affect Customer Satisfaction.

Alternate Hypothesis (Ha): The tangible nature of tickets will affect Customer Satisfaction.

Null hypothesis (Ho): Responsiveness of staff at ticket Counter Does Not Affect Customer
Satisfaction.

Alternate Hypothesis (Ha): Responsiveness of staff at ticket Counter Does Affect Customer
Satisfaction.

Null hypothesis (Ho): Cost of food is not related to Customer Satisfaction.

Alternate Hypothesis (Ha): Cost of food is related to Customer Satisfaction.

Null hypothesis (Ho): Waiting time of Food Delivery does not have relation with the
Customer Satisfaction.

Alternate Hypothesis (Ha): Waiting Time of Food Delivery Have Relation with The
Customer Satisfaction.
 RESEARCH DESIGN/ METHODOLOGY

Research design constitutes the blueprint for the collection, measurement, and
analysis of data. Research design is the plan and structure of investigation so conceived as to
obtain answers to research questions. The plan is the overall scheme or program of the
research. It includes an outline of what the investigator will do from writing hypotheses and
their operational implications to the final analysis of data. The most important research
design types are exploratory, descriptive, and causal. In this research we are using
exploratory research design because we are exploring the customer satisfaction about service
quality given by the Indian railway.
The primary data collection is done with the qualitative research design with the help
of experience survey. Survey taken on the customer who use the railway services frequently.

Sampling Design

“The heart of scientific research is measurement”

The first step of sampling is to study the population then target the people and take a
significant sample for your research study. There are two types of sampling probability and
non-probability.

The non-probability sampling is done when the population is unknown or infinite.

There are four types of sampling methods in non-probability sampling method convenience,
judgemental, quota and snowball. In this research we used the non-probability convenience
method because the population is unknown.

The formula for determining the sample size for estimating the population proportion is:

z2× p × q
N=
e2
Where,

N = Sample size

Z = Score at level of significance

e = Margine of error
p = Probability of success

q = probability of failure

so,

(1.645)2 ×0.5 × 0.5

n= 2
(0.045)
= 334.07

From above equation we have to take sample size of 334 for 90% confidence and true
proportion within ± 0.045

Scaling Technique

For the basic level of measurement four scale are their Nominal, Ordinal, Interval, Ratio. In
this research we used this scale for demographic measurement of the respondent. Other than
this there are two types of scaling technique comparative and non-comparative scale. Non-
comparative scale is further divided into two part Graphical and itemized rating scale. The
scale used in this research is itemized rating scale name Likert scale with five point rating.
 DATA COLLECTION & ANALYSIS

Data Collection
In order to have a better understanding, we decided to conduct an online survey on ‘Assessing
the customer satisfaction towards service quality of Indian Railways: A case study on Indian
railway’ in which questions were raised from various domains in the service quality of Indian
Railways. There were more than 225 responses on the survey from people from all parts of the
country.
Data Analysis
Some of the questions are discussed below:

Survey Analysis:
● The most responded age group is 21-30 years.
● Upto 20 years, the respondents were 34.1%.
● 31-40 years, the respondents were 9.2%.
● 45 years & above were, 8.7%.

Survey Analysis:
● The Male respondents were 69%, which were a bit more from females.
● The Female respondents were 31%.
Survey Analysis:
● The students are the major part of our research & contributed with 73.4% in the
survey.
● The employed respondents were 15.3%.
● The contribution of self employed respondents were 8.3%.
● The retired respondent is 1 i.e. 0.4%.
● The unemployed respondents were 2.6%.

Survey Analysis:
● The graduates are holding the majority with 56.8% contribution.
● Following them are the post graduates with 24.9% contribution.
● 9.6% are the H.SC. passed.
● 7.4% are the S.SC. passed.
● 1.3% are the Phd. Holder.
Survey Analysis:
In this question 96.5% people responded as Yes & 3.5 as No.

Survey Analysis:
● The most preferred coach is AC (Air conditioned) with 44.5% of weightage in all the
229 responses we got. This shows that how the lifestyle of people are changing, they
are more inclined towards hygiene and comfort rather than saving money by
travelling in sleeper class(choosers are 41.5%) or general(choosers are 14%).
Survey Analysis:
● The preferred tool is the online platform provided for ticket booking by various
channels. The respondents inclined towards online booking are 89.5%. By these
responses we can easily identify that how internet is more accessible to the public and
how India is advancing in terms of technology.
● The 10.5% people who chose station booking/offline booking might not be educated
about the technology advancement or find the online booking untrustworthy.

Survey Analysis:
● The 63.3% of the sample size have availed the catering service offered by Indian
Railways.
● 36.7% of the crowd have never availed the facility of food service by indian
Railways.
Survey Analysis:
● There is no much use for majority of people to travel with train on daily or weekly
basis.
● People travelling daily are 3.5%, weekly travellers are 5.2%.
● People travelling monthly are quite more than daily and weekly i.e. 25.3%.

Survey Analysis:
In this likert scale we are checking for the satisfaction level of the sample elements.
● Drinking Water & Sanitization:-
Most Satisfied: 51
Satisfied: 90
Neutral: 54
Dissatisfied: 24
Most Dissatisfied: 10

● Lighting:-
Most Satisfied: 58
Satisfied: 125
Neutral: 34
Dissatisfied: 11
Most Dissatisfied: 1

● Platform Announcement:-
Most Satisfied: 95
Satisfied: 96
 Neutral: 25
Dissatisfied: 12
Most Dissatisfied: 1

● Self Security:-
Most Satisfied: 45
Satisfied: 88
Neutral: 64
Dissatisfied: 25
Most Dissatisfied: 7

● Luggage Security:-
Most Satisfied: 49
Satisfied: 63
Neutral: 70
Dissatisfied: 35
Most Dissatisfied: 12

● Available of Resting Benches:-

Most Satisfied: 58
Satisfied: 91
Neutral: 49
Dissatisfied: 24
Most Dissatisfied: 7

● Waiting Rooms:-
Most Satisfied: 55
Satisfied: 96
Neutral: 44
Dissatisfied: 25
Most Dissatisfied: 9

Survey Analysis: In this likert scale we are rating the ticketing process from Excellent to
Very Poor.
● Website easy to access:-
Excellent: 83
Good: 102
Neutral: 28
Poor: 12
Very Poor: 4
● Website Design:-
Excellent: 55
Good: 125
 Neutral: 32
Poor: 12
Very Poor: 5

● Booking Engine Transition Quick & Easy:-

Excellent: 69
Good: 108
Neutral: 40
Poor: 9
Very Poor: 3

● Website Attractivenss:-
Excellent: 58
Good: 106
Neutral: 42
Poor: 21
Very Poor: 2

● Realiability:-
Excellent: 63
Good: 109
Neutral: 44
Poor: 9
Very Poor: 4

● Responsiveness:-
Excellent: 62
Good: 113
Neutral: 32
Poor: 17
Very Poor: 5

Survey Analysis: In this likert scale we are checking the satisfaction level of sample element.
● Waiting time for dish:-
Most Satisfied: 39
Satisfied: 83
Neutral: 81
Dissatisfied: 20
Most Dissatisfied: 6
 ● Interior Cleanliness:-
Most Satisfied: 36
Satisfied: 73
Neutral: 74
Dissatisfied: 37
Most Dissatisfied: 10

● Menu Diversity:-
Most Satisfied: 35
Satisfied: 74
Neutral: 84
Dissatisfied: 29
Most Dissatisfied: 7

● Packaging of dish:-
Most Satisfied: 39
Satisfied: 80
Neutral: 78
Dissatisfied: 28
Most Dissatisfied: 4

● Cost of dish:-
Most Satisfied: 35
Satisfied: 81
Neutral: 80
Dissatisfied: 24
Most Dissatisfied: 9

Conclusion
By this study we conclude that

Questionnaire

Demographic details:
1. What is your name?
2. What is your age?
● Upto 20 years
● 21 – 30 years
● 31 – 45 years
● 45 years & above
3. What is your gender?
● Male
● Female
● Prefer not to share
4. Which of the following describes you best?
● Student
● Employed
● Self employed
 ● Retired
● Not Employed
5. What is your e-mail id? (non-mandate)
6. What is your marital status?
● Married
● Unmarried
7. Do you have any disability?
● Yes
● No

Study Related Questions:

1. Are you a user of Indian Railways?
▪ Yes
▪ No
2. Which coach type do you prefer in your travel?
▪ General
▪ Sleeper
▪ AC
3. Which type of ticketing model you choose while booking your ticket?
▪ Online
▪ Station booking (Offline)
4. Have you ever availed the food or catering service offered by Indian Railways?
▪ Yes
▪ No
5. How often do you travel by train?
▪ Daily
▪ Weekly
▪ Monthly
▪ Few times a year
6. How would you rate our railway stations and platforms?

Sr. Particulars Most Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Most

No. Satisfied dissatisfied

1 Drinking Water and Sanitisation

2 Lighting

3 Clarity of announcement

4 Self-Security

5 Waiting Rooms

6 Sufficiency of seating space

7 Staff behaviour

8 Security of luggage

7. How would you rate the ticketing process?

Sr. Particulars Excellent Good Neutral Poor Very Poor

No.

1 Website easy to access

2 Web Site Design

3 Web site attractiveness

4 Booking Engine Transition

Quick and Easy

5 Reliability

6 Responsiveness

8. How would you rate food services provided by railway?

Sr. Particulars Most Satisfied Neutral Dissatisfied Most

No. Satisfied dissatisfied

1 Waiting time for dish

2 Interior cleanliness

3 Menu Diversity

4 Packaging of dish

5 Cost of dish

9. Please tell us what we can do to improve:

 LIMITATION AND CONCLUSION

Limitations

 The biasness of the respondents may affect the result of the study so for as primary
data is concerned. Because of the biases of the respondents the result of the study may
not be the same for all places.
 The survey has been conducted in Maharashtra. It may not reflect the public opinion
at large.
 The sample size has been small (229) which may not reflect the broader picture.
 Time and cost constraints.

Conclusion

By this study we are able to conclude that the majority of contribution was given by the
students with the age group of 21-30 years, Males having the higher stake. The preferred
coach of the sample unit are AC. The ticketing facility preferred by them is the online mode
by which we can say that the new technological education is adhered by many peoples which
also contributes to the conservation of trees. It also makes the system secure and user
friendly. The catering service availed by the passengers were on the higher side. People
usually travel by train for few times of the year. The satisfaction level for Drinking Water &
Sanitization, Lighting, Platform Announcement, Self Security, Availability of resting
benches, Waiting Rooms, Waiting time for Dish, Packaging of Dish, Cost of Dish was
satisfied, & for Luggage Security, Interior Cleanliness, Menu diversity it was Neutral.

The rating scale for process of ticket booking is excellent to very poor. Website Easy to
Access, Website Design, Booking Engine Transition Quick & Easy, Website Attractiveness,
Reliability, & Responsiveness shows the Good rating of the variables.
 LEARNING OUTCOMES

Remembering:

remembered the various concept and terms associated with scientific business research like
what is research, research design/methodology, hypothesis, sampling design/methods, scaling
technique, questionnaire

Understanding:

Understand why to study business research, business research process, defining research
problem, Management dilemma, Research questions, Research objective, types of research
design/methodology, determining sample size and methods, use of scaling technique,
designing the questionnaire.

Appying:

Found the problem and dilemma regarding service quality provided by Indian railway.
Applied the qualitative exploratory research design to find out the customer satisfaction level
by developing questionnaire and taking a response by experience surveys.

Analysing:

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