[autobahnjpr]

I recently travelled on Jaipur Delhi Vande Bharat Train and had a nice experience. This was my second vande bharat journey the first being the inaugural Delhi Varanasi way back in 2019.

The train has been reviewed multiple times on the forum and many of its details are covered already. So, I will stick to my observations and experiences as much as possible.

The rack seemed same as that of other VB trains and I had same vibe and experience as on the Delhi Varanasi VB. The CC (cattle class ) offers 3X2 seating arrangement with one half of the seats facing the other half with a nice table in the middle. Coaches are spotlessly clean, Seats are very comfortable and the legroom is 2X of Indigo (). The EC class, I guess would be much more comfortable.

On Boarding

- You are given a newspaper with choices of Hindi, English and Business and a water bottle. Once you settle, you get first round of tea and biscuit (digesting millet ones). The tray is quite large and easy to push up and pull down. Announcement is made about the next destination and other general stuff. The digital display at the end of the coach displays the next destination, speed of the train and steps to connect to intrain wi-fi. So you sip your water, tea and browse through the newspapers till the next round of refreshments arrive. I was pleasantly surprise to find small pouch of hand sanitizer - will the airlines also learn and provide the same during flight.


water bottle, hand sanitizer, tea pouch, biscuit

Ride and In coach Experience

The tracks on most part of Railway network have been upgraded for about 130 kmph and VB took no time to sprint ahead at that speed. The ride is very quiet and non jerky. Bored of sitting and as I had an aisle seat, I went to the coach entry gates to spend some time looking at the mustard fields through the glass pane of the door. I immediately felt the difference - the music in my earphones got lost, I could hear the thak-thak of the wheels running on the tracks with the typical side movement of a running train. After some time, as soon as I returned back to the seat through the sliding door, the music in my earphone became audible, the noise vanished and movement was not felt.

Being a Monday, the train was full with all seats occupied as people were travelling back to NCR after celebrating kite flying in Jaipur. Still, there was no big hassle of keeping luggage as the overhead luggage shelf could accommodate all the suitcases and bags. The coaches are lit well, seat numbers are marked clearly at a height for easy identification and there are number of cctv cameras inside the coach.


Emergency stop button for sliding door and instructions in braille

Khane Mein kya hai - Food

After some time, the breakfast arrives, being early morning in nicely packed containers in a tray. By that time, tea, biscuit and newspapers have helped the passenger get relaxed. Once again, a pouch of sanitizer is given - how thoughtful of Indian Railways ().


The breakfast tray


The contents inside

For a vegetarian breakfast, I was surprised to get poori bhaji, a small cutlet, curd and small fruit cake. The meal was good. After the breakfast, you can also order more tea if needed. I did.

In a casual chat with the service personnel, they revealed their catch-22 situation. Some passengers do not include meals in the ticket but order tea etc. which can be purchased additionally. They can be served only after serving those who have purchased meals. This annoys these passengers and they behave rudely. If they complain, then the staff can be sacked also.

In Coach Entertainment

The onboard wifi when connected provides nice interface for entertainment, train info, food etc. You can report a fire, ask for cleanliness or get medical help through the same.


Home page of onboard wifi


On home page, the burger menu gives various options for entertainment with very limited set of movies etc. Thathasthu movie was the only option available.



The journey details


Confirm your option

Coach Amenities

At the risk of repeating, I will share some details about various features of the coaches.


Talk Back Unit to report any emergency


Fire Extinguisher


Medical Kit for first aid



Left and Right doors - notice the foldable seats and cctv


Emergency door opening switch


Heater for warm water


Large dustbin near the pantry area


Hand dryer in the washroom


Large clean spotless mirror in the bathroom


Illuminated flush and a jet spray


Nice clean washbasin with area to keep stuff

It was a great journey with fog playing spoilsport and causing slight delay. I will definitely opt for VB in future travels and maybe try EC class one day.

[Aditya]

Thread moved out from the Assembly Line. Thanks for sharing!

[fhdowntheline]

Why bother with " optional meal" during booking? Wont make a huge difference by charging 150 -200 Rs less. At least you can keep food in front of the passenger and make his mouth shut. Conversely, follow the airline model of buy on board.