Review: Business Class train travel in India

vigsom · 26th November 2022, 21:20

Experiencing Executive Class on the Chennai - Bengaluru evening Shatabdi Express

Had an opportunity to travel by the Executive Class on the Shatabdi with the evening departure ex. Chennai Central; I was stepping into the Executive Class on this train for the first time and in a First AC Chair car after perhaps 15 years.

What I liked

1. Cleanliness of both the cabin and the washrooms - the washrooms were clean and dry even towards the end of the journey
2. Firm comfortable seats with the best seat pitch in business
3. Good food service - well spaced out and timed
4. Demeanour of the catering staff
5.Easy to access - the coach was very close to the entry point of platform#2

What could have been better

1. For the first time in many journeys, no complaints

The cabin in Executive Class - nothing special about it

Review: Business Class train travel in India-shatabdiec_massbc_cabin.jpg

The comfortable Executive Class seat

Review: Business Class train travel in India-shatabdiec_massbc_seat.jpg

Seat pitch

Snack

Finally, some soup in a Shatabdi

Review: Business Class train travel in India-shatabdiec_soup.jpg

Meal minus the rice (I decided to skip the rice)

Review: Business Class train travel in India-shatabdiec_meal.jpg

Kadai Paneer and dal with some chapatis- well made

Review: Business Class train travel in India-shatabdiec_meal2.jpg

After the meal - putting the waste away neatly to make the steward's job of disposal easy

Review: Business Class train travel in India-shatabdiec_aftermeal.jpg

Best washroom seen in a long time - clean and dry

Review: Business Class train travel in India-shatabdiec_supercleanwashroom.jpg

V.Narayan · 26th November 2022, 22:48

Taking inspiration from this thread I travelled by two train journeys in the last ten days thus doubling the number of train trips done in 20 years in one go!!!. The first was a chair car from Howrah to Jamshedpur leaving Howrah early in the morning and getting to Jamshedpur about 4 odd hours later. Unfortunately the state of maintenance of the train - a Shatabdi I think - was poor and the state of the toilets was worse. Ditto for cleanliness of the entrance/exit areas. The other was an over night journey in an AC 2-tier from Jamshedpur to Raipur by Howrah Mail. Similar observations and toilets that at least fussy me simply could not use. I also learnt that my late middle-age body is no longer adept at sleeping and resting in sleeper trains. I guess I'm going to avoid sleepers hereafter!

Nimz · 28th April 2023, 02:16

Quick question to those who have traveled by Anubhuti... Does anyone know if the toilets have provision to change nappies?

Traveling with a baby - would Vande Bharat be better?

26th November 2022, 21:20	#31
vigsom Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Feb 2006 Location: NSEW Posts: 3,768 Thanked: 25,496 Times	Re: Review: Business Class train travel in India *Experiencing Executive Class on the Chennai - Bengaluru evening Shatabdi Express* Had an opportunity to travel by the Executive Class on the Shatabdi with the evening departure ex. Chennai Central; I was stepping into the Executive Class on this train for the first time and in a First AC Chair car after perhaps 15 years. What I liked 1. Cleanliness of both the cabin and the washrooms - the washrooms were clean and dry even towards the end of the journey 2. Firm comfortable seats with the best seat pitch in business 3. Good food service - well spaced out and timed 4. Demeanour of the catering staff 5.Easy to access - the coach was very close to the entry point of platform#2 What could have been better 1. For the first time in many journeys, no complaints The cabin in Executive Class - nothing special about it The comfortable Executive Class seat Seat pitch Snack Finally, some soup in a Shatabdi Meal minus the rice (I decided to skip the rice) Kadai Paneer and dal with some chapatis- well made After the meal - putting the waste away neatly to make the steward's job of disposal easy Best washroom seen in a long time - clean and dry Last edited by vigsom : 26th November 2022 at 21:39.
	(4) Thanks

26th November 2022, 22:48	#32
V.Narayan Distinguished - BHPian Join Date: Aug 2014 Location: Delhi-NCR Posts: 4,071 Thanked: 64,317 Times	Re: Review: Business Class train travel in India Taking inspiration from this thread I travelled by two train journeys in the last ten days thus doubling the number of train trips done in 20 years in one go!!!. The first was a chair car from Howrah to Jamshedpur leaving Howrah early in the morning and getting to Jamshedpur about 4 odd hours later. Unfortunately the state of maintenance of the train - a Shatabdi I think - was poor and the state of the toilets was worse. Ditto for cleanliness of the entrance/exit areas. The other was an over night journey in an AC 2-tier from Jamshedpur to Raipur by Howrah Mail. Similar observations and toilets that at least fussy me simply could not use. I also learnt that my late middle-age body is no longer adept at sleeping and resting in sleeper trains. I guess I'm going to avoid sleepers hereafter!
	(1) Thanks

28th April 2023, 02:16	#33
Nimz BHPian Join Date: May 2007 Location: Bangalore Posts: 594 Thanked: 198 Times View My Garage	Re: Review: Business Class train travel in India Quick question to those who have traveled by Anubhuti... Does anyone know if the toilets have provision to change nappies? Traveling with a baby - would Vande Bharat be better?
	() Thanks