[vigsom]

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

Could you please share the size of the berth?

Originally Posted by narayans80

am 179 cm (5' 10.5"). 2AC berths are just enough. 1AC berth is more generous

I am again on a train, and this time in a coach marked HA1 viz. half First AC and half AC Two Tier; managed to shoot a pic of the 2AC side and the First AC side to compare lengths of the berths. I found the First AC berth to be a mere approx. 10cm longer and 10cm wider than the second AC inside berth. Pics attached for reference. The panel shaded blue is where the First AC berth would extend to.

The reference panel on the AC 2 Tier side highlighted in blue


Same panel on the First AC side

[barcalad]

Originally Posted by RedTerrano

Could you please share the size of the berth? I am 6' tall and I am trying to figure out if I will be able to comfortably sleep on it.

I'm 6'4" and quite built up. 2AC berths are comfortable whilst sitting (with the backrest up) for me. With the backrest laid down (especially if the person on the lower berth is a late sleeper), it becomes a massive headache (literally!) to sit on the lower berth as I have to twist my neck downwards. For sleeping, while the upper berth offers privacy (no one nudges or bangs into my legs that protrude out by a couple of inches if I lay straight), I prefer the lower berth. Not only does it alleviate the feeling of claustrophobia, but it saves me the trouble of dangling like a primate much to the amusement of 5 other passengers in a moving train.

Coming to 1AC, that's my gold standard. The lower berth as well as the upper berth is definitely longer and well padded, and I find myself at utmost comfort in those berths. For example, in a 1AC lower berth, my feet don't touch the door panel if I lay down straight! Imagine my joy!

Nevertheless, as someone who prefers trains over flights, it is 2AC or upwards for me. I'd rather walk to the destination than board 3AC or lower for obvious reasons. Even in 2AC, I try my best to book way in advance so as to get a lower berth. If I get a WL/RAC or any other berth, well, I let my chivalry and politeness do the talking. If you know what I mean.

I legit believe the government should introduce a "tall passengers lower berth quota" on the lines of the various other quotas that they offer. Would be such a relief!

[vigsom]

After some great experiences on trains, many of which I've penned on the forum, my most recent ones (in the last 2 months) have been nothing to write home about; I've been taking a train almost every week and my experiences have been the worst in my 45 plus years of rail travel. Here is a list of

1. LHB 1AC and 2AC coaches are supremely uncomfortable - they are set at extremely low temperatures, passengers face severe jerks when the train departs or slows down - have faced this in trains 12656, 22907, 22908, 22904, 12971, 12972, 12472, 16587, 12927 to name a few. The older coaches (Utkrisht) are still well kept and temperature control is excellent.

2. Washrooms in LHB 1AC and 2AC trains are horribly managed - they leak water from the top, the toilet tissue is almost non existent, have faced water out situations, vacuum flush doesn't work most of the time and early this morning on Train No. 12472, I ended up with a clogged WC.

3. TTE on board train No.12472 at New Delhi on 28/09/2022 was particularly rude when he came to check my ticket in 1AC. The door at my cabin in coach H1 was extremely hard to open and when I opened the door half with some difficulty after he knocked, I told him I had boarded at Delhi, he asked me rudely why I was standing in the way; so much about TTEs' demeanour. I've reported his behaviour to the Railway Minister. This is the first time I've encountered a rude TTE in 45 plus years and I hope it doesn't happen again.

4. Overcharging and no billing in ALL pantry cars- this is an old disease and hasn't been cured even after 4 decades. Just to cite an example - I was charged 150 rupees for lunch on train 12656 ex MAS 11/09/2022. When I complained to RailMadad, the Pantry Manager of all rakes called and gave me some cock and bull story about "special lunch" not being part of the standard offering. He also pleaded with me to give him another chance and requested me to get in touch with him when I was travelling next. End result - I have stopped depending on pantry offerings except for the routine tea/coffee.

5. NTES - Train Enquiry does not provide realistic arrivals/departures for trains - it is over optimistic and paints a very rosy picture about trains arriving at time at a station while in reality, they never make it on time. Eg. a train which is 2 hours late at Bhusawal is shown as being on time at Surat, which is 335km away. How on earth will an express train cover 336km in 3.5 hours is beyond science.

6. Availability status shows tickets unavailable or high on waitlists and one is forced to take tickets from the originating station under GN quota. However, when we board the train at intermediate stations, we find several berths empty.

7. Linen - almost invariably, the linen provided in "brown sealed packets" is just ironed and re-issued. I've noticed several times the linen coming out of the brown sealed packet is dirty; same with pillow covers.

8. Rail Madad portal is a hit or miss; some issues are genuinely resolved while some are unilaterally closed without even discussing with the complainant. Worst responses are from Northern Railway.

Sorry to state this, but my worst experience in Indian Railways all these years has been in the recent months and a big blot on all the good work that's been done and that I've personally seen in the last few years.

[sukhbirST]

Thanks for bringing out important facts which we generally ignore, though have faced them often. Will be careful about linen, food etc. Have been informed about trains being changed, cancelled or combined post covid. Also there are issues like restoring travel concessions which media or people like you have brought out.

[lapis_lazuli]

From what I see, it is by design. Consistently provide poor service, pileup of complaints, "discuss" poor service in parliament session, take voice vote, privatize! Voila...Desi SNCF!

Mind you, like vigsom ji mentioned, the same services were good under the same divisional managers not too far back in time.

[Malyaj]

Just returned from Aleppey / Cochin trip and had mixed experiences.

Bangalore to Ernakulam North - 16526 Kanyakumari Express.
Coach - 2nd AC.
We were unlucky to get 2nd AC coach (HA1) which was shared with the first AC (half-half). There were two more coaches A1 and A2 which were further away and newer, but somehow we always get saddled with the worst coaches and seats.

Horrible, ancient, jerky coach that rammed into the coach behind it every time the train started from standstill or accelerated. Couldn't catch a wink during the night. The curtains looked like the had been salvaged from debris. Extremely run down surroundings all over. AC was meh.

Return journey 16319 SMVB Humsafar Express.
Coach - 3rd AC
This time coach was newer, interiors better and coach not jerky. We got seats 71/72 near the door, which was jammed and passengers struggled to open it all night. Again couldn't sleep for a second. The following morning coffee and breakfast vendors kept walking up and down every minute with their announcements and it got really irritating. Why do we need these services literally every minute? What a racket.

On the bright side, both trains were more or less on time, and the linen spotlessly clean.

[jkrishnakj]

The issues you articulated (barring the coach jerking during stops) are exactly the ones that make people drive/fly. My last 2AC journey by Rajdhani to Hyd was a tough one too. I had the berths closer to the door. It’s just a Lower/Upper berth/seat configuration facing the train wall, meaning, you can’t even stretch your legs while seated. Never felt like a 2AC at all.

As for train running times and actual status, I rely on the ‘Live Train’ app. So far, 100% of the times it’s shown the right timings, right platform numbers and the right count of where my coach is, from the engine side.

Whilst the railways have improved a lot over the past years (clean platforms, clean coaches at origin , food delivery at seat etc..)they still have a long way to go.

[apachelongbow]

My only train journey in recent history (meaning the last two decades) was the Delhi Mumbai Tejas last April. In short it was a fast (between 130 to 140 kmph) journey, seamless acceleration, bang on timing and very neat interiors with spotless linen. The TC and actually has a connected tablet to check tickets, the food was average, but sufficient and timely.
I had assumed that IR had really, really improved based on my experience, until I read the above posts.

[Gummybear]

Originally Posted by vigsom

1. LHB 1AC and 2AC coaches are supremely uncomfortable - they are set at extremely low temperatures, passengers face severe jerks when the train departs or slows down - have faced this in trains 12656, 22907, 22908, 22904, 12971, 12972, 12472, 16587, 12927 to name a few. The older coaches (Utkrisht) are still well kept and temperature control is excellent.

.

These jerks reminds me of a journey in Shatabdi Chair car from Lucknow to Delhi earlier this year. The curtain hook was placed to pinch upper arm of pessenger, and the jerks was to ensure that hook leaves an Indian Railways momento on your arm.

There is huge amount of improvement required in our trains. Designs are not ergonomic, such niggles leaves bad taste (and tattooed arm) of journey.

Infact, one major flaw is that our trains are not friendly to specially abled. Even for regular person entry steps to coach is a fitness test, specially with luggage. Many times I have seen aged people requiring support of others to climb up or down the coach.

Our railways have been improving, but still a long way to go for being world class, hoping that people's feedback will help to expedite.

[Latheesh]

I did Hubli-Vijawawada-Jamshedpur (return) train journey back in 2003. It was the worst train experience I had (dirty train, rude people, animals inside coach, horrible food). Hubli-Vijayawada stretch was ok, but Vijayawada-Jamshedpur was the worst. It was so bad that I stopped travelling by train after this trip.

My next journey was after 10 years in 2013 (Bangalore-Kannur) as there was some difficulty in travelling by road. Luckily this journey was not that bad.

Third and latest train journey (in 19 years) was last week from Kannur to Chennai (train 12686). I was very very nervous to travel by train but it turned out very very good. Neat train, clean sheets, and was on time. Only negative experience is our coach attender (don't know what they are called) did not pay me the balance amount I paid for water and could not locate him.

[souvikjana83]

I travelled in 3AC of Visakha Express in Aug. Old ICF coaches were being used in it. Loads of Cockroaches roaming around. I killed some of them whenever possible. Raised an issue on RailMadad. When the train arrived at Vijayawada at 1 am, people came with sprays to address the issue. It was a horrible experience.

[Neurodoc]

I travel by Bengaluru to delhi rajadhani exp almost every week till kazipet. 3 AC coachs are too crumpled and seats are narrow. I usually book 2 AC and its comfortable. Trick to avoid getting seats near the door is booking early, IRCTC books seats at centre of the coach first then towards doors to balance load. Avoid ticking lower birth only if its not absolutely necessary. I don’t eat pantry food as i never liked taste, usually I order from E catering services. Toilets have improved compared to past and if you complain they clean it at next station.

[84.monsoon]

Another major problem with LHB coaches as compared to the older noisier coaches is that they are quieter. One would think this is an advantage, but read on ...

The quiet movement of the coach means the snores of co-passengers are much more audible than in the older coaches. This is my biggest worry with train travel as I cannot sleep when someone is snoring. If you travel in 3AC cabin with 6 berths, it is almost guaranteed that at least two if not more, will be snoring loudly often out of sync with each other. The din this causes especially when the train is slowing down or stopping at stations can be horrendous! I have tried everything from extra pillows to music played through headphones and it is absolutely no use, as the sounds get amplified and ricochet off the walls of the tiny cabin..

Originally Posted by Neurodoc

Trick to avoid getting seats near the door is booking early, IRCTC books seats at centre of the coach first then towards doors to balance load. Avoid ticking lower birth only if its not absolutely necessary.

Completely agree. The worst part is if you book Tatkal or premium tatkal, paying a hefty amount, almost always the berth is allocated near the end of the compartment, with the corresponding side berths being set aside for RAC passengers. If their berths are not confirmed, you will be treated to long conversations late into the night as they sit across each other and chit chat keeping the lights in and with no regard to the passengers in the opposite cabin trying to sleep.

[Neurodoc]

Originally Posted by 84.monsoon

The din this causes especially when the train is slowing down or stopping at stations can be horrendous! I have tried everything from extra pillows to music played through headphones and it is absolutely no use, as the sounds get amplified and ricochet off the walls of the tiny cabin.

Experienced this snoring cycle few days back(no offence to any one) it’s absolute nightmare when you have to work next day and expecting few hours of good sleep. Whenever i get into train i scan for probable snoring person and try to sleep early so that can go into deep sleep before the snoring starts. It never worked though

[Aj_Pod]

I love travelling by trains but experiences like the ones mentioned above really leave a sour taste. Normally the trains which start from Mumbai going down South are well maintained and the food quality (read Non Veg) is also good.

My recent travel in LTT - KOCHUVELI Garib Rath was a horrible experience. Got the Berth near the Door and was a nightmare. The door closing mechanism came off and it was open the entire night ! Complained to the support staff who came and removed the entire set and went off, only to return in the morning to fix it. Stink from the dirty toilets nearby was an add on. This train is best avoided.

On my way backin Train No. 16346, was charged INR 180 for Chicken fry (outstanding) and chapati (hopeless). No bill was provided inspite of requesting, reason told was this is special food and do not form a part of the menu. Don't know how genuine this reason was and if they can really cook whatever they want and charge any amount that comes to their mind !