“I had travelled from Visakhapatnam to Secunderabad in the sleeper coach of train No. 12727 Godavari Express a few weeks ago. Travel by this once prestigious train has been reduced to a nightmare,” says M. Bhaskar.
“People like me who booked ticket well in advance but had to travel sitting because of not getting confirmed reservation (it was in RAC) and passengers who obtained ticket by standing in serpentine queues had been taken for a ride. This was proved right when some others, with an unreserved ticket, came just minutes before the train started, got into the reserved coach, and occupied the berths.” I shared the seat with a passenger having RAC ticket, a WL (waitlist) ticket holder, and a general ticket holder.
In all, 50 other unreserved ticket holders were sitting in our compartment. But the TTE, the police and the ticket-checking squad turned a blind eye for reasons best known to them. Passengers found it extremely difficult even to go to the toilet or get down to buy anything when the train halts. It would have been better had all the coaches been made ‘general’. The situation is similar for Tatkal and premium Tatkal ticket holders.
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Four of us had to sit in an uncomfortable position till Eluru (i.e., till 10 p.m.) before I was allotted a berth there. One person sat in a corner of the lower berth, near my wife’s legs, and whenever I raised an objection, he used to go till the toilet and come back again.
This happened a couple of times. I was sure he did not have a ticket. If something happens, who will take the responsibility?
Is the Railways doing any social service or charity by allowing people to travel free of cost? It should be more concerned about the safety of genuine passengers.
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I travelled in the III AC coach of the Godavari Express along with my wife on September 30. We had no sleep as the otherwise cosy coach was jumping with a lot of jerks. This apart, the train was stopping at unscheduled places in between stations. There was also no water in the toilets, said P. Vaikhunta Rao of APSEB Colony, Seethammadhara. I am 80 years old. No action was taken by the authorities concerned. It could have even led to derailment. If that was the situation at normal speed, how can we introduce high-speed trains?