The Indian Railways has been my preferred travel partner for over a decade for obvious reasons. Though I have always enjoyed my journeys and often wondered about the mammoth structure of the organisation that keeps moving people along the length and breadth of this country, I have had my own quota of disappointments and distresses. Let me share some recent instances here.
In September 2012, I booked tickets for a Kerala trip scheduled for January 2013, because the Railways expects people to plan their journey 120 days in advance! As per the schedule, we boarded the 2-tier AC coach of the train at Bangalore. We felt the temperature inside the coach to be more than the temperature outside. While the weather outside was pleasant, it was very suffocating inside and everybody was sweating as the air-conditioning was not working! We could not find any technical staff in the compartment. After about 20 minutes of journey, when the ticket examiner came to check the tickets, people complained to him and made their disappointment known in strong words. He was forced by the passengers to summon the technical staff and switch on the AC. In fact, the staff were supposed to keep the compartment cool even before the train is pulled to the platform. But they just did not do it, and this is how the passengers travelling by the highest class were welcomed on board, that too, having made the payment 4 months in advance!
The next day I wanted to travel from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam and boarded the Mumbai bound express train at Thiruvananthapuram at 9.50 a.m. The train was supposed to reach Ernakulam at 1.50 pm. In between, the train was stopped in a small station, where there was no scheduled stoppage, for almost 25 minutes for allowing a slow-running passenger train to cross over! As if this was not enough, the train was again stopped in a small station for 15 minutes to allow a goods train to cross. Finally, the train reached Ernakulam at 2.30 p.m., a clear delay of 40 minutes. Remember, this was a long-distance Mumbai bound express train! With the latest and most advanced communication and signal systems, I don't know how railways decides on the priority of train movements.
As if the above experiences were nothing, we were in for a bigger shock when we boarded the train for the return journey. We had reserved the return journey tickets also four months in advance and were allotted berth/seat numbers 46 and 48 in the 2-tier AC coach. When we boarded the train, we found that the coach had only 46 seats and seat number 48 simply did not exist! After about half an hour of journey, another family joined us from the next station who were allotted seat numbers 45 and 47. When, this was brought to the notice of the ticket examiner, even he seemed lost. However, he comforted both of us saying that he would contact the reservation authorities and get us a solution. When I asked him whether there were any unreserved berths in the compartment, he said 'No'. After two hours, he came back to us and allotted berths elsewhere in the same compartment. Out of my curiosity, I asked him, how he could manage two berths in an otherwise fully-reserved coach. He told me that the reservation office had already noticed this flaw and blocked two seats elsewhere. But the same was not communicated to him! I had a sigh of relief that at least they realised it well in advance. Otherwise, I really don't know how they would have found a solution.
In September 2012, I booked tickets for a Kerala trip scheduled for January 2013, because the Railways expects people to plan their journey 120 days in advance! As per the schedule, we boarded the 2-tier AC coach of the train at Bangalore. We felt the temperature inside the coach to be more than the temperature outside. While the weather outside was pleasant, it was very suffocating inside and everybody was sweating as the air-conditioning was not working! We could not find any technical staff in the compartment. After about 20 minutes of journey, when the ticket examiner came to check the tickets, people complained to him and made their disappointment known in strong words. He was forced by the passengers to summon the technical staff and switch on the AC. In fact, the staff were supposed to keep the compartment cool even before the train is pulled to the platform. But they just did not do it, and this is how the passengers travelling by the highest class were welcomed on board, that too, having made the payment 4 months in advance!
The next day I wanted to travel from Thiruvananthapuram to Ernakulam and boarded the Mumbai bound express train at Thiruvananthapuram at 9.50 a.m. The train was supposed to reach Ernakulam at 1.50 pm. In between, the train was stopped in a small station, where there was no scheduled stoppage, for almost 25 minutes for allowing a slow-running passenger train to cross over! As if this was not enough, the train was again stopped in a small station for 15 minutes to allow a goods train to cross. Finally, the train reached Ernakulam at 2.30 p.m., a clear delay of 40 minutes. Remember, this was a long-distance Mumbai bound express train! With the latest and most advanced communication and signal systems, I don't know how railways decides on the priority of train movements.
As if the above experiences were nothing, we were in for a bigger shock when we boarded the train for the return journey. We had reserved the return journey tickets also four months in advance and were allotted berth/seat numbers 46 and 48 in the 2-tier AC coach. When we boarded the train, we found that the coach had only 46 seats and seat number 48 simply did not exist! After about half an hour of journey, another family joined us from the next station who were allotted seat numbers 45 and 47. When, this was brought to the notice of the ticket examiner, even he seemed lost. However, he comforted both of us saying that he would contact the reservation authorities and get us a solution. When I asked him whether there were any unreserved berths in the compartment, he said 'No'. After two hours, he came back to us and allotted berths elsewhere in the same compartment. Out of my curiosity, I asked him, how he could manage two berths in an otherwise fully-reserved coach. He told me that the reservation office had already noticed this flaw and blocked two seats elsewhere. But the same was not communicated to him! I had a sigh of relief that at least they realised it well in advance. Otherwise, I really don't know how they would have found a solution.
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