15 October 2013, 01:25 PM IST
I had written about a journey by this train over a year ago. Apart from the fact that the train number has been changed to 22694, and that the fares have gone up, the following changes appear to have taken place:-
# Food and linen provided on board as a compulsory and now expensive part of the ticket price have become even worse. The sooner they make these optional, for passengers, the better. Added to all this is the risk that the pantry cars have become, judging by the frequent episodes of fire and bad food, latest being the Dibrugarh Rajdhani's pantry car catching fire earlier today.
# Control for the Bangalore Rajdhani appears to be divided between Northern Railways for operational aspects and South Western Railway for catering and South Central Railway for no idea what. As a result there is a fair amount of buck-passing between assorted "competent authorities". A series of complaints by me on SMS and email from onboard the train itself have been bouncing around between Northern Railway, South-Central Ralway and South-Western Railway.
# This train can easily be speeded up to a one night train, if it does not waste time entering, reversing, and then exitting Secunderabad. Also, toilets need to be cleaned at en-route stations, which is not done as of now. Passengers should be encouraged to send defect reports to a centralised SMS number giving train number, coach number and defect,so that maintenance crews know exactly what to fix.
The previous article is linked here . . . http://blogs.timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Diary-of-a-Divorced-Delhi-Male/entry/luxury-de-railed
Fixing the above would be a simple system change, if the will was there, and the mafia-like tentacles of those who benefit the most could be eliminated. And if the "competent autorities" got their combined acts together for the fare bearing and tax paying passengers. As things stand, however, the issues are best portrayed by this hoarding outside Bangalore Central Railway Station, where mugshots of petty crooks are placed on public display by said competent authorities but the real big bag-snatchers like people heading NPAs with banks are given protection by the same competent authorities.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vm2827/10286563826/
All said and done, railway journeys are still the best way to see India, meet interesting people, and discover the real pulse of the Nation. During this journey, for example, I met and interacted with people at Hazrat Nizamuddin Station for over an hour before boarding and at Bangalore Central for an hour after disembarking, in addition to the people I met onboard in my AC-3T coach as well as on the platforms at Nagpur, Ballarshah and Secunderabad stations.
I met a young Kashmiri Pandit girl who carries her pepper spray and small stun-pen, hooked on her belt under her shirt, and wishes there was a taser-cum-mobile phone version. The only time she had to use it, though, was in Delhi. On the platform, her worried father looked slightly relieved when I told him my seat was in the same compartment, it is another thing that these youngsters looked after me more than the other way around.
I met some young soldiers from the Dogra Regiment who quietly but firmly handled some other young guys getting very loud with their "antakshri" in another compartment. In turn, these guys with similar haircuts spent the evening discussing mountain treks with the young Kannadiga techie who was returning from Roopkund and beyond, and convinced him that even at 25 it was a good idea for him to think of joining the techinical wings in the Indian Army and then hey, trek away even better.
I met the young orthodox Hindu Bania community girl returning from an engagement ceremony in Delhi to her Tamil Christian fiancee, many of whom had come to see her off as she had to rejoin duty in Bangalore while the Tamil contingent caught another train to see the Taj in Agra, before heading South themselves, it was great fun listening to them converse.
On the way to Hazarat Nizamuddin station in Delhi I shared a cup of tea with the auto-rickshaw driver who took me there, and listened to him tell me how difficult it was for him to remain straight and untainted by drugs and the rest of it, as he grew up in the Pahargunj area, and who then asked me which part of India he should relocate to for best opportunities for his yet unborn children.
There was the young "Kannadiga Pathan" who slept most of the way from Secunderabad to Bangalore, then helped everybody offload their bags as well as negotiate rates with the coolies, because, as he said, that's what his father told him Pathans do, help people. Especially in the morning.
And the auto-rickshaw driver who got tired of seeing me walk around at Bangalore Central, and asked me what I was doing there if I was not going somewhere, at which point I told him I was waiting to be picked up by my wife but was also looking for a good cup of coffee. He pointed me towards the famous coffee chain, and I said, no, good filter coffee, at which point he took me to a small shop tucked away on the right side of the main exit with a long line in front of it selling the best fresh ground filter coffee I have had in a while for all of 10/- rupees. When I offered to treat him to one too, he said, OK, but he needs to run as the Tirupati Express was going to arrive in a few minute.
And ofcourse, the man with the Veerappan style I met under the hoarding of the petty crooks, who asked me if I could recognise him in that line-up. When I said, no, he said, OK, imagine me without my moustache? I squinted and said no, still can not, but what do you do, he said "everything", I said can you get me an Aadhar card in my name, and he said, yes, in 2 hours at most.
I love trains but am going to carry my own food and bedrolls.
And the Indian Railways really need to do something about putting mugshots of bigger crooks up on railway stations. Lifeline of the Nation, yes. Because, at the end of the day, the trains I have been on for the last few years run on time, safely. And it is a shame that these little finishing touches foul up the perceptions.
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