Irate passengers travelling by the 2 AC coach of Yesvantapur – Bhagalpur Express lost their cool after the AC stopped functioning and pulled the chain soon after the train left Duvvada on Sunday morning.
The officials present at the railway station rushed to the train and deployed six persons to repair the AC. The passengers complained to the staff on the train a couple of hours earlier but the latter failed to take action. The train moved on after the AC was repaired after half-an-hour, according to Duvvada Railway Users’ Association K. Eswar.
Acute shortage of coach attendants and AC mechanics, and deployment of untrained staff were reported in this columns in the past. One coach attendant is required for each coach and one AC mechanic can take care of two or at the most three coaches, but they are forced to attend to five or sometimes even six coaches. Passengers are worried about safety, apart from malfunctioning of AC.
There were only five coach attendants instead of six and one AC mechanic instead of two for the six AC coaches on the Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad-Visakhapatnam Tatkal Special.
The old coaches, being used on this special train, do not have EOGs like in Garibrath and Duronto. The required current is generated only when the train is running and stopping for long periods could reduce the optimal functioning of the AC.
The operation of Tatkal Special trains by the Railways to meet the peak demand in summer, when the RTC strike is under way, is seen more as a measure to make hay while the sun shines.
Least priority being given to these trains and delays in running are making passengers of Visakhapatnam-Secunderabad- Visakhapatnam Tatkal Special fret and fume.
After paying ‘Tatkal’ fares through their nose, the passengers travelling by these trains are not reaching their destination in time.
The trains do not even have a pantry car.
Passengers wonder as to what is the point in paying high fares when these trains fail to meet their expectations.
Ironically, though the Tatkal tickets can normally be booked only one day in advance, there is no such restriction on these ‘Tatkal’ specials. These trains being fully ‘Tatkal’, the tickets sold in all classes on these trains are at a premium.
Further, concession for senior citizens, physically challenged, and others are not allowed on these trains. The quota of berths under Tatkal on various trains, which was 10 per cent in the early phases, has now gone up to 50 per cent. Further, passengers cannot claim refund for tickets booked under Tatkal on regular trains, says a frequent traveller, ridiculing the action of the Railways.
