RE:new garib train
by rayker rayker on Feb 08, 2007 12:27 PM Permalink
funny thing is that there's lots of room for train to come up. i guess there's another one waiting between mangalore and Bangalore. which has one of the highest traffic on the highways. unfortunately, while china can build a herculean task of a railroad between Tibet and mainland china, we still cannot connect between mangalore and Bangalore without less than half the challenge that china had to face and we are taking more than a decade for the same. mr.laloo can be proud only and only if he had already finished such a normal work. its been years since the government has been dragging its feet over such an issue. its odd that they speak of big numbers and self patting about achievements that have been as a result of the explosive economic growth. if only they realized how much more they could have done if they had not been placing impediments in the first place!
Since the traffic in south india particularly from chennai kanyakumari is huge and there is a good potential for the Railway Ministry to introduce additional trains. This will surely increase the revenue and also the time taken for the journey will reduce when compared with the bus travel. During festival seasons we can see huge rush for getting tickets and all the tickets get booked 60 days well in advance.
At last eventhough Kanyakumari is the southern tip of the nation, why can't the Railway ministry think of converting the single lane to double track? This is in process from the past 10 years and for future we need surely to increase to handle better passenger movement.
The Central Govt must think of these issues and complete the work in full swing on the interest of the nation.
It is already congested with the 64 passengers in a compartment and increasing the no to 81 will definetly make an issue on safety.Its better to increase the no of compartments rather than people inside that in AC3.Stress on hygiene has to better more efficient than now.
Make the online tatkal tickets available only 4 to 6 hrs prior to the departure of the train. With the current online tatkal system people can book the tickets 5 days prior to the journey and the actual people who are in need of the tatkal tickets are left helpless.
I do not agree with the policy of increasing 3rd AC capacity from 64 to 81.If you pay 2.5 - 3 times of the 3 tier fare to travel in 3rd AC, you expect a certain amount of privacy.A 3tier coach has 72 seats, so in essence people will pay much more & yet travel in conditions more crowded than a 3tier coach. How does that add up? A better alternative is to leave the composition of the existing 3rd AC coaches untouched and rather increase the number of AC coaches.Its alright to ensure that the revenues grow, but so should the facilites & passenger comfort.
RE:Ridiculous
by Balasubramaniam R on Feb 08, 2007 12:14 PM Permalink
I agree. As such Railways is struggling to compete with budget airline fares so increasing AC fares would further make rail travel unpopular. On the contrary railways should try and reduce costs through more efficint operations using mechanisation. Attract passengers through better & clean amenities in stations, improve security, speed up long distance trains. Apart from tatkal tkts booked 20, 15,7 days prior to travel could have some bloked seats and sold at higher prices but for this to happen the capcity also has to be increased.
It is sad that an excellent proposal by the man himself has been put into cold storage. I am refering to the proposal to allow only ticketed passengers onto the platforms. One of the biggest putoffs for a now-regular plane traveller when he decides on a train journey is the maddening crowds in our stations. This simple move will solve that issue.
Increasing seats in AC-3 from 64 to 81 is a bad move because the AC-3 coach is already considered to be a bit too congested. Increasing the proportion of AC-3 coaches would be a better option.
The railways must also revamp their online reservation website taking a cue from some of the domestic Airline websites. Safety is another concern area.
These are issues that need focus in the railway budget instead of introducing yet more trains (most of which invariably travel to the incumbent railway minister's home state !) ...
again a political stunt to gain some more votes. tell me why the hell you need new trains from bihar when there are already twice the number of trains then any other state.
While praising the efforts taken by Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav in turning around the face of Indian Railways, not only in terms of targetting Rs,20,000 Crores, but also annoucing a number of AC trains, I request him to stress more for cleanliness in the railway compartments and in stations. Like we have an attender in all AC coaches, one SAFAIWALAS can be posted for two or three coaches to clean the toilets every now and then instead of waiting the train to reach a major junction for cleaning.
Sometimes taking foreighners along, though travelling in AC compartments, I feel ashamed to see the apathy of toilets. The responsibility is not only with the railway authorities, but also with the passengers who sometimes do not flush the toilets, smoke clandestinely, write / draw all kinds of pronographic cartoons etc.,
RE:Stress Cleanliness
by Shivam Nonem on Feb 08, 2007 12:25 PM Permalink
Good idea. Safaiwallahs kept in every compartment... No major remuneration needed... But it will keep the train/toilet clean and the image more cleaner!!!!
RE:RE:Stress Cleanliness
by rayker rayker on Feb 08, 2007 12:32 PM Permalink
i guess its the passengers who are responsible. we dont respect our own country, we do not have pride in defiling our national carrier, we as a nation have been poor about such trivial habits, spit , defecate, defile, draw graffiti, stick posters, pass urine, puke at any corner, pick nose, dirty the compartments, drop trash all over the country side. phew! i guess its the passengers to blame. the railways are expected only to ensure there's enough water, enough trains to handle the humongous load, peroper governance and strict fines for defiling a public means of travel.
RE:RE:RE:Stress Cleanliness
by rayker rayker on Feb 08, 2007 12:33 PM Permalink
(err, a typo on line one about defiling & pride, that was un-intentional :P )
Its ok to increase the fares for AC Class, but how about improving some standard and facilities ? People travelling by AC class paying more do deserve some class and facilities by improving their sleepers, toilets, & bed linen. Its just not ok to increase the fares without showing some concern to the paying public.
