Chennai: Southern railway (SR) perhaps has to do more than merely change the name of trains and increase its stoppages if it were to woo more travellers to its Shatabdi-like high-speed services.
The recently launched Chennai-Coimbatore Shatabdi, for instance, has received a better patronage than the earlier Duronto that it was. However, the patronage could go down if it fails to pull up its socks, at least on the maintenance front.
Rust and dust welcome passengers aboard the Chennai-Coimbatore Shatabdi express, which is priced not much less than the economy category airfare.
An executive chair car ticket is priced at Rs 1,680 (for adult) in Shatabadi express, only Rs 500-odd less than the economy category (Rs 2,277) in a few low-cost air carriers (if booked in advance).
Also, train passengers would have to endure an additional five hours, compared to flight journey.
"The seats are not clean. Even the trays provided to keep the food are rusty. Why should I choose to travel in a dirty compartment with dust-ridden seats and rusted tray when I can get better service by just paying a few hundred additional rupees for an air ticket?" Anbumathi, who shuttles between Chennai and Coimbatore frequently, wondered, while appreciating the train stewards serving food aboard the train as one of the best ever in railways.
Enquiries revealed that the buck stops at the ministry more than the maintenance department. The rake used for this Shatabadi express is over 20 years old.
Worse, unlike the modern AC coaches, which have power generating system beneath every coach, the Shatabdi rake has a single generator at the end, making it impossible to shift the coaches to other trains and vice versa, pointed out a senior SR source, preferring anonymity.
Officials hope to refurbish and improve the service when the coaches turn up for periodic overhauling due in four months.
Next: Adventure ride on express train
Adventure ride on express train
Chennai: A journey aboard ChenÂnai-Coimbatore Shatabdi express would easily qualify for a bumpy ride on a hilly terrain. From enduring profuse sweating to surprise fall of boulder (here, rusted trays), this train encompasses all features of an adventure ride.
Arulmozhi (42), a lecturer from Royapettah, was one such fortunate passenger who has decided to think twice before booking a ticket in Chennai-CoimÂbatore Shatabdi express again.
Having paid for AC chair car ticket for her recent Coimbatore visit, the last thing she expected was a stranger staring at her while munching her breakfast served aboard the train.
But, she had to put up with the inconvenience because railways chose to attach a class-III AC coach for want of AC chair car coach, compelling her to sit face to face with a stranger while having her breakfast.
She could but only feel perturbed as the TTE aboard had even worse experiences to share when Arulmozhi reported it to him. "A tray used to keep the platter was so worn out that it fell and injured a child," she quoted the TTE as saying. Railways would have to act now if it were to stop passengers' from deserting its trains.
