Large windows, wide aisles, open to sky views, plush revolving seats and uniformed attenders serving hot tea/coffee and snacks. This is not a plane but the first vistadome coach of the South Central Railway (SCR) attached to the Pune-bound Shatabdi Express on Friday.
The 40-seater coach which has been pressed into service a fortnight ago has been witnessing 80% occupancy and today’s passengers had a pleasant surprise when Secunderabad Divisional Railway Manager Abhay Kumar Gupta travelled with them till Vikarabad, personally interacting with them and welcoming them with flowers and chocolates!
The passengers were happy with the comforts much better than inside an aeroplane. For instance, there is more leg space and luggage compartment is one end. The seats too can be rotated to have a panoramic view of the outside world. A few of them wanted the train to start a bit early as it reaches Pune late in the night and others wanted the train’s ‘no service day’ to be changed to Thursday from Tuesday.
“We are trying to popularise the coach among the passengers as they can enjoy the train journey more with their families. The fare is almost equal to the executive class. If the demand increases, we can add one more coach,” said Mr. Gupta.
Indian Railways has about 45 vistadome coaches made by its own coach factory in Perambur. If the passengers take to it, the SCR can consider having vistadome coaches between Secunderabad-Vijayawada and Secunderabad-Bengaluru too. “Ideally, this is suited for a 6-8 hour journey during the day time as passengers generally prefer berths for overnight journeys,” added the DRM.
The fare for Secunderabad to Pune in Vistadome coach is ₹2,110, executive chair car ₹1,935 with optional additional catering charges of 385 while booking. Fare for AC Chair car is on dynamic fare basis starting with 905 with optional additional catering charges of 275 while booking. Senior divisional commercial manager M. Basavaraj, divisional operations manager G.Yadagiri and other senior officials were present on the occasion.
