GROUP PROJECT

ON

“CONSUMER BEHAVIOR TOWARDS EMU TRAINS WITH SPECIAL REFERENCE TO BEACH-TAMBARAM SECTOR”

SUBMITTED TO

SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT

SRM UNIVERSITY

UNDER THE GUIDANCE OF

Mr. S. Senthil Kumar

(Assistant Professor)

SUBMITTED BY

MRINAL DEO (35107176)

Acknowledgements

We express our sincere thanks to Mr S. Senthil Kumar, our Mini Project guide to

have given us the opportunity to work on such a challenging project. We also

would like to thank the commuter’s help, without which it would not have been

possible to accomplish the project successfully. Their timely feedback has

facilitated in bringing the project in the present form.

Last but not the least I would also like to thank our friends who took time off to

share insights about their experiences while travelling in EMUs. This helped us

immensely to understand the psyche of the consumer. We just hope that the

recommendations and suggestions presented by us are considered seriously.

CERTIFICATEThis is to certify that Mr. Mrinal Deo, Mr. Abhijeet Sinha & Mr. C.Karthikeyan has successfully completed the mini project, as a part of academic fulfilment of Master of Business Administration (MBA) in the area of Consumer Behaviour.

PROJECT GUIDE DEAN

Mr S. Senthil Kumar (Dr. Jayshree Suresh)

Date: SRM-SOM

PREFACE

Today’s business dynamics is very fast; environment is changing. To understand

the changing market behaviour the organization has to do a systematic study. A

project work is a scientific and systematic study intended to catch the nerves of the

problem or issue with the application of management concept and skills. We were

assigned to understand the customer’s perception and attitude towards local trains.

This report has been complied preliminary in partial fulfilment of the requirement

for the award of the degree of management studies programme.

Apart from theoretical concept of the topic, we have included the findings and

suggestions.

GENERAL INFORMATION

Indian Railways.... the golden Era

16th April, 1853...............The Beginning

The first railway on Indian sub-continent ran over a stretch of 21 miles from Bombay to Thane.

The idea of a railway to connect Bombay with Thane, Kalyan and with the Thal and Bhore Ghats inclines first occurred to Mr. George Clark, the Chief Engineer of the Bombay Government, during a visit to Bhandup in 1843.

The formal inauguration ceremony was performed on 16th April 1853, when 14 railway carriages carrying about 400 guests left Bori Bunder at 3.30 pm "amidst the loud applause of a vast multitude and to the salute of 21 guns." The first passenger train steamed out of Howrah station destined for Hooghly, a distance of 24 miles, on 15th August, 1854. Thus the first section of the East Indian Railway was opened to public traffic, inaugurating the beginning of railway transport on the Eastern side of the sub-continent.

In south the first line was opened on Ist July, 1856 by the Madras Railway Company. It ran between Veyasarpandy and Walajah Road (Arcot), a distance of 63 miles. In the North a length of 119 miles of line was laid from Allahabad to Kanpur on 3rd March 1859. The first section from Hathras Road to Mathura Cantonment was opened to traffic on 19th October, 1875.

These were the small beginnings which is due course developed into a network of railway lines all over the country. By 1880 the Indian Railway system had a route mileage of about 9000 miles.  INDIAN RAILWAYS, the premier transport organisation of the country is the largest rail network in Asia and the world’s second largest under one management.

Indian Railways is a multi-gauge, multi-traction system covering the following:   

Track Kilometres

Broad Gauge (1676 mm)

Metre Gauge (1000 mm)

Narrow Gauge (762/610 mm)

Total

86,526 18,529 3,651 108,706

Route Kilometres

Electrified Total    

16,001 63,028    

7566 -  locomotives 37,840  -  Coaching vehicles 222,147 -  Freight wagons 6853  -  Stations 

300  - Yards 2300  -  Goodsheds 700  -  Repair shops 1.54 million - Work force

Indian Railways runs around 11,000 trains everyday, of which 7,000 are passenger trains.

Chennai suburban railways 1 Routes

o 1.1 Central - Avadi - Tiruvallur - Arakkonam - Thiruttani

o 1.2 Central - Thiruvottiyur - Ennore - Ponneri - Gummidipoondi - Sulurpet

o 1.3 Beach - Egmore - Mambalam - Guindy - Meenambakkam - Tambaram

o 1.4 MRTS

Beach - Egmore - Mambalam - Guindy - Meenambakkam - Tambaram Stations: Chennai Beach - Chennai Fort - Park - Chennai Egmore - Chetpet -

Nungambakkam - Kodambakkam - Mambalam - Saidapet - Guindy - St. Thomas Mount - Pazhavanthangal - Meenambakkam - Trisulam - Pallavaram - Chromepet - Tambaram Sanatorium - Tambaram - Perungalathur-Vandalur-Urapakkam-Guduvancheri-Potheri-Kattangulathur-Maraimalai Nagar Kamarajar-Singaperumal Koil-Paranur-Chengalpattu-Villiambakkam-Palur-Palayasivaram-Walajabad- Nathapettai-Kanchipuram-Tirumalpur-Thakolam-Arakkonam

 

Scope of project

This project gave us great exposure to the customer’s perception, because it

includes the service offered. This project helped us in knowing the market

practically.

Our job

1. Drafting questionnaire for the better understanding of passengers satisfaction

level

2. Collection of data on passenger traffic on weekdays and on weekends.

3. Check the availability of prominent display boards at railway stations.

4. Finding out the problems that the commuters are facing while travelling.

Key findings:-

1. By calculating the number of responses, we found that most of the people

were satisfied with the timings of train services (Beach-Tambaram route).

2. Possession of monthly passes by the commuters indicated clearly, that bulk

of them were strongly brand loyal.

3. We also came to know while visiting the stations, that there was big problem

of less number of ticket counters.

4. Many commuters were facing the problem of wooden seats, which were

very uncomfortable.

5. As there were good number of coaches where the seating capacity is more

plying on the Beach-Tambaram route, travelling during peak hour time was

a nightmare.

SWOT

STRENGTH

Indian railways is a 100% Government of India owned organization Exhaustive railway network across the country Dedicated workforce Strong financial backing This year’s profit rose to Rs 20,000 crores Service reliability

WEAKNESS

Conflict between railway unions and employees Delay in getting approvals and funds for new proposals

OPPORTUNITIES

Strong possibility for railways to capture 90% of container traffic With the airline industry facing severe crisis, Indian railways can encash on

this opportunity By offering air-conditioned coaches in the local trains, they can target the

upper segment of the market

THREATS

The possible threats are from the taxi service Weak infrastructure and no up-gradation of stations Absence of passenger facility will drive away the customer to private modes

of transport

VISION:To serve the customers with a smile and let them assure of excellent services.

GROWTH STRATEGY

Fast innovation, Fast growth”

SLOGAN

“Serving customers with a smile”

Why the brand is recognized?

1. Monopoly in the market

Suburban railway network of 147 Km

81 stations

Daily patronage of over 4.7 lakh passengers

Proposed extension of MRTS line from Velachery to Saint Thomas Mount

2. Customer loyalty

Ever increasing number of commuters taking suburban trains. Availability of VLR stalls at railway stations for refreshment. Book stalls Customized ticket vending machines Hassle free journey, free from any type of pollution.

3. Longevity

Provision of a fast and efficient transport service Helps to establish new communities along the routes of railways

4. Overall market acceptance

Public have developed “patterns of behavior” (i.e. vicarious learning).

EMUs has become a part of commuters daily life Efficiency in service has been at the forefront for market acceptance

5. Goodwill

Suburban trains are operating for the past decades These services offered by Southern Railway has been always praised

for its on time performance

Objective of the project

The main objective of field survey during the project was to find out the

commuters satisfaction level of the services offered by Southern Railways.

The other objective of the research was to identify the other needs of

commuters with respect to number of trains plying on Beach-Tambaram

route.

Secondary objective

Do the commuters prefer the new ticket vending machines installed at

various suburban stations?

How frequently commuters complain against the deficiency in train

services?

Research Methodology:

Research methodology is considered as the nerve of the project. Without a

proper well-organized research plan, it is impossible to complete the project

and reach to any conclusion. The project was based on the survey plan. The

main objective of survey was to collect appropriate data, which work as a

base for drawing conclusion and getting result.

Therefore, research methodology is the way to systematically solve the research

problem. Research methodology not only talks of the methods but also logic

behind the methods used in the context of a research study and it explains why a

particular method has been used in the preference of the other methods.

Research design:

Research design is important primarily because of the increased complexity in the

market as well as marketing approaches available to the researchers. In fact, it is

the key to the evolution of successful marketing strategies and programmers. It is

an important tool to study buyer’s behaviour, consumption pattern, brand loyalty,

and focus market changes. A research design specifies the methods and procedures

for conducting a particular study. According to Kerlinger, “Research Design is a

plan, conceptual structure, and strategy of investigation conceived as to obtain

answers to research questions and to control variance.

Types of research is:

Descriptive Research

The type of research adopted for study is descriptive. Descriptive studies are

undertaken in many circumstances when the researches is interested to know the

characteristic of certain group such as age, sex, education level, occupation or

income. A descriptive study may be necessary in cases when a researcher is

interested in knowing the proportion of people in a given population who have in

particular manner, making projections of a certain thing, or determining the

relationship between two or more variables. The objective of such study is to

answer the “who, what, when, where and how” of the subject under investigation.

There is a general feeling that descriptive studies are factual and very simple. This

is not necessarily true. Descriptive study can be complex, demanding a high degree

of scientific skill on part of the researcher.

Descriptive studies are well structured. An exploratory study needs to be flexible in

its approach, but a descriptive study in contrast tends to be rigid and its approach

cannot be changed every now and then. It is therefore necessary, the researcher

give sufficient thought to framing research.

Questions and deciding the types of data to be collected and the procedure to be

used in this purpose.

Descriptive studies can be divided into two broad categories: Cross Sectional and

Longitudinal Sectional. A cross sectional study is concerned with a sample of

elements from a given population. Thus, it may deal with household, dealers, retail

stores, or other entities. Data on a number of characteristics from sample elements

are collected and analyzed. Cross sectional studies are of two types: Field study

and Survey. Although the distinction between them is not clear- cut, there are some

practical differences, which need different techniques and skills. Field studies are

ex-post-factor scientific inquiries that aim at finding the relations and interrelations

among variables in a real setting. Such studies are done in live situations like

communities, schools, factories, and organizations.

Another type of cross sectional study is survey result, which has been taken by me.

A major strength of survey research is its wide scope. Detail information can be

obtained from a sample of large population .Besides; it is economical as more

information can be collected per unit of cost. In addition, it is obvious that a

sample survey needs less time than a census inquiry. Descriptive research includes

survey and fact finding enquiries of different kinds of the major purpose.

Descriptive research is description of the state of affairs, as it exists at present. The

main characteristic of this method is that the researcher has no control over the

variables; he can only report what has happened or what is happening. The

methods of research utilized in descriptive research are survey methods of all kinds

including comparative and co relational methods. The reason for using such needs

to be flexile in its approach, but a descriptive study in contrast tends to be rigid and

its approach cannot be changed ever now and then.

TAMBARAM RAILWAY STATION

Data collection methods:

After the research problem, we have to identify and select which type of data is to

research. At this stage; we have to organize a field survey to collect the data. One

of the important tools for conducting market research is the availability of

necessary and useful data.

Primary data: For primary data collection, we have to plan the following four

important aspects.

Sampling

Research Instrument

Secondary Data – Indian Railways profile, journals and various literature

studies are important sources of secondary data.

Data analysis and interpretation

1. Questionnaires

2. Pie chart and Bar chart

Questionnaires:

This is the most popular tool for the data collection. A questionnaire contains

question that the researcher wishes to ask his respondents which is always guided

by the objective of the survey.

Pie chart:

This is very useful diagram to represent data, which are divided into a number of

categories. This diagram consists of a circle of divided into a number of sectors,

which are proportional to the values they represent. The total value is represented

by the full create. The diagram bar chart can make comparison among the various

components or between a part and a whole of data.

Bar chart:

This is another way of representing data graphically. As the name implies, it

consist of a number of whispered bar, which originate from a common base line

and are equal widths. The lengths of the bards are proportional to the value they

represent.

Preparation of report:

The report was based on the analysis and presented with the findings and

suggestions. The sample of the questionnaires is attached with the report itself.

Sampling Methodology:

Details of the sampling methodology, we have made questionnaire. The one is

made for the Commuters.

No. of questions in questionnaires for customer: 07

No. of question related to services offered: 05

No. of respondents during the research: 15

 Sample unit

Professionals, Business man,

Employees, Students

Analysis:

Q1. How long you’re using the EMU service?

a) Less than a year

b) 1-5 years

c) >5 years

INFERENCES:

1. Majority of the commuters has been using the EMU service for 1-5 years.

2. It shows that the faith imposed with EMU by the commuters and people are loyal to EMU services.

Q.2. From which source station to destination do you commute?

Inference: As the field survey was mainly focussed on commuters in beach

tambaram sector, so lot of them were daily commuters from the stations lying in

between.

Q.3. According to you EMU service between Beach-Tambaram is

a) Excellent

b) Very good

c) Good

d) Fair

e) Poor

INFERENCES: Overall majority of the commuters rated the EMU services

between Beach-Tbm sector as good. This speaks volumes about the services

offered by the Southern Railways.

Q. 4. You commute daily with

a) With a monthly pass

b) Buying tickets

c) Without ticket

INFERENCES:

1. Maximum number of commuters prefers to travel by taking the monthly pass issued by the railways, as it proves to be lot cheaper than buying tickets daily.

2. Rest of them were buying tickets on daily or occasional basis, as they were occasional travellers.

3. This shows that Indian Railways gives special preference to their regular customers.

Q.5.The level of satisfaction you get from EMU services

a) Highly satisfied

b) Somewhat satisfied

c) Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

d) Dissatisfied

e) Highly dissatisfied

LEVEL OF SATISFACTION

0

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

HIG

HLY

SA

TIS

FIE

D

SO

ME

WH

AT

SA

TIS

FIE

D

NE

ITH

ER

SA

TIS

FIE

DN

OR

DIS

SA

TIS

FIE

D

DIS

SA

TIS

FIE

D

HIG

HLY

DIS

SA

TIS

FIE

D

Series1

Series2

Series3

Series4

INFERENCES:

1. As per our survey, majority of the commuters were somewhat satisfied and none of them were highly dissatisfied.

2. Next majority were those commuters who were highly satisfied.

3. This analysis clearly indicates that, railways need to do little improvements and the services will be upto the mark.

Q.5.Tick the appropriate column

SERVICE

a) Excellent

b) Good

c) Fair

d) Bad

e) Very bad

TIMING

a) Excellent

b) Good

c) Fair

d) Bad

e) Very bad

PRICE

a) Excellent

b) Good

c) Fair

d) Bad

e) Very bad

PERFORMANCE

a) Excellent

b) Good

c) Fair

d) Bad

e) Very bad

SATISFACTION SCALE

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

EXCELLENT GOOD FAIR BAD VERY BAD

NO

. O

F R

ES

PO

ND

EN

TS

SERVICE

TIMING

PERFORMANCE

PRICE

Most of the commuters said that the service provided by railways is excellent

and none of them termed it as bad.

Timing aspect of trains was rated well by majority of the commuters.

Majority of the commuters said that the performance of EMU’s is excellent.

Almost all the commuters said that the pricing strategy is excellent by the

railways.

Q.6 Which is the best way to commute in Chennai City? (Rank your choice from

the list)

a) EMU

b) MTC

c) Own vehicle

d) MRTS

e) Cycle

BEST WAY TO COMMUTE IN CHENNAI CITY

0

2

4

6

8

10

12

14

EMU MTC OWN VEHICLE MRTS CYCLE

NO

. O

F R

ES

PO

ND

EN

TS

INFERENCE

1. Almost all of the commuters preferred EMU trains over any other means of transport.

2. Usually the buses are crowded and people throng local trains.

Q.7.State your opinion about

I) Cleanliness at the station premises:

a) Excellent

b) Very Good

c) Good

d) Fair

e) Poor

II) Availability of ticket counters

a) Excellent

b) Very Good

c) Good

d) Fair

e) PoorIII) Prompt services

a) Excellent

b) Very Good

c) Good

d) Fair

e) Poor

IV) Quality of refreshment stalls

a) Excellent

b) Very Good

c) Good

d) Fair

e) Poor

INFERENCE:

Majority of the commuters said the cleanliness at the station is excellent.

Whereas majority of them were not satisfied with the number of ticket counters.

Almost all of them rated the quality of refreshment stalls were poor or fair.

RECOMMENDATIONS AND SUGGESTIONS

Railways have been at the forefront in transporting people to their respective workplaces and to their leisure destinations. Moreover there are some loopholes which need to be plugged in. Few recommendations:

Efforts should be made to increase the number of ticket counters.

The number of refreshment stalls has to increase, in order to cater to the growing needs of the commuters.

The frequency of train services during peak hours has to increase.

Railways can introduce the facility of reservation of tickets in local trains in order to serve the needs of those commuters who commute on long routes.

LIMITATIONS

Every study has certain limitations. In my study, also there were certain

limitations, which we could not able to solve.

Since, it was a mini project so the time available for this project was very less and this was our major constraint.

The number of people interviewed was very meagre, so there could be little variation in the results.

The sample size is also very small which represent my research on consumer

behaviour.

BIBLIOGRAPHY

www.indianrail.gov.in

www.google.co.in

www.en.wikipedia.org

www.southernrailways.gov.in

Consumer survey Questionnaire

Respondent:

Name:

Age:

Sex:

Qualification:

Occupation:

Income: <5000 5000-10000 10000-20000 >20000

Q1. How long you’re using the EMU service?

c) Less than a year

d) 1-5 years

c) >5 years

Q.2. From which source station to destination do you commute?

From To

Q.3. According to you EMU service between Beach-Tambaram is

f) Excellent

g) Very good

h) Good

i) Fair

j) Poor

Q. 4. You commute daily with

d) With a monthly pass

e) Buying tickets

f) Without ticket

Q.5.The level of satisfaction you get from EMU services

f) Highly satisfied

g) Somewhat satisfied

h) Neither satisfied nor dissatisfied

i) Dissatisfied

j) Highly dissatisfied

If you’re highly dissatisfied, state the reason why:

Q.5.Tick the appropriate column

SERVICE

f) Excellent

g) Good

h) Fair

i) Bad

j) Very bad

TIMING

f) Excellent

g) Good

h) Fair

i) Bad

j) Very bad

PRICE

f) Excellent

g) Good

h) Fair

i) Bad

j) Very bad

PERFORMANCE

f) Excellent

g) Good

h) Fair

i) Bad

j) Very bad

Q.7. Which is the best way to commute in Chennai City? (Rank your choice from

the list)

f) EMU

g) MTC

h) Own vehicle

i) MRTS

j) Cycle

Q.7.State your opinion about

I) Cleanliness at the station premises:

f) Excellent

g) Very Good

h) Good

i) Fair

j) Poor

II) Availability of ticket counters

f) Excellent

g) Very Good

h) Good

i) Fair

j) PoorIII) Prompt services

f) Excellent

g) Very Good

h) Good

i) Fair

j) Poor

IV) Quality of refreshment stalls

f) Excellent

g) Very Good

h) Good

i) Fair

j) Poor

Thank you for your patience!!!