[aargee]

Originally Posted by Pennant1970

attenuated tolerance of claustrophobia and the nearby presence of smelly bodies! I know this sounds elitist, but I get anxiety attacks nowadays when there is crowds around or when I am in a confined space like a train berth

Yes, all of us do sir; we can't tolerate high pitched noises as well

Originally Posted by Sa!lor

Very good train journey travelogue, travelling in sleeper class is a different experience in itself, any reason you did not visit the light and sound show at Statue Of Unity because from your travelogue it seems you had enough time in the evening.

We were extremely tired by the evening sir that, all of us had brain drain, not knowing what to do after having taken the Eco-Tourism ride. Both Wife & I had severe headache due to lack of sleep the previous night in the train + we didn't know that SOU is a place where we had to spend a minimum of 2 days & frankly we didn't expect the place to be this magnitude. We could start thinking only after Daughter had Maggi, Son & I had Mirinda & Wife had both Maggi & Mirinda. By then it was around 5/5:30 I think & we simply wanted to retire back to BRG to have a sound sleep.

Originally Posted by tharian

our fellow travelers make sure it is all down the drain at the end. But for the kids, it would have been a good experience

Well said sir; civic sense is beyond the boundaries of school & colleges, it takes special efforts to learn them; but then we see people hailing from many walks of life in 2S, that was what I intended to show our Children. I don't know how you (or anyone in this esteemed forum as well) would take it, I still regret that we should've taken one short travel via unreserved car. Now, that would've taught some life's realities to be thankful for what we're blessed with everyday.

Originally Posted by tharian

although there is at least one in every coach who is on the phone the whole journey talking loudly or watching some video with no headphones

Absolutely yes, absolute lack of civic sense

Originally Posted by tharian

You will notice it when traveling to Chennai between Basin Bridge and Central.

Basin Bridge-Chennai has a reason; that's the junction where the trains to North & West split/meet. So I was told that at this junction they decide the platform & track where the train has to reach at Chennai central & it's this lethargic attitude of folks at Basin Bridge junction causes all the trains to have a default stoppage.

Originally Posted by vaibhav_a_a

wouldnt risk a state road transport bus, especially with family.

Hello sir, it isn't a risk if we've time at our disposal in our journey.

There's a world of difference between driving & taking public transport that I've observed; when I drive, I drive that's all. During a family gathering I could recall 80% roads, signals, traffic & junctions & 20% of the sceneries & fun during the travel; but the family? They know 20% of the roads, signals, traffic & junctions (when there're some events to watch) 80% sceneries & fun during the journey.

Originally Posted by antz.bin

The situation in Indian Railways is much worse than it was about 20-25 years back

Hello sir, I had exactly the same thought while we were traveling between Madgaon to Dadar, but I had the below points to ponder

• Earlier the toilets used to be cleaned only once at start of journey, but now frequently (as the job is outsourced) & at times I'm lucky enough to sign a witness for them to have cleaned
• The cleaning staffs are really awesome; although not religious, they were cleaning the cars intermittently
• The engine capacities have improved a lot (it's a standard WAP7 these days) for most of the trains
• There were no catering services then, now there's a dedicated pantry car selling water to veg & non-veg meals in most long distance trains; and for those with non pantry cars, food is delivered right at seat through app
• Even the cars have improvised windows (barring 1 or 2 trains that we had taken) which have come a long way from the traditional glass & iron windows + better flooring, no torn seats & the berth chain that has a safety lock
• Pre 2004 one had to visit the railway station to get the tickets booked versus today it can be done over a mobile phone
• All the old railway stations (CST/Dadar/MMT/Chennai/Madgaon) are surprisingly clean & the newer ones that are built in last last decade are meticulously built & Ekta Nagar one is stunning

And one profound factor to change was - people don't talk to each other nowadays (which was the first thing to do then), instead they talk over the mobile. Atleast then it was better because they weren't talking so loud; speak a little more loud these days, they don't even need a mobile!!

Originally Posted by antz.bin

still won't recommend anyone to travel in any class lower than 3AC. Even that is too crowded I think and 2AC is my preferred one

Quite sad, but it is the truth you said

[dust-n-bones]

Quite apart from the nuisance of rail travel, I am surprised that this trip was apparently only to savor street food across three cities. I was expecting to see the usual tourist traps - you surprisingly avoided all that.

The street food was also of the 'whatever is most convenient' variety - I mean, you didn't plan for or go out of your way to find the best Mumbai vada pao.

An expensive way to taste passable street and train food. Exorbitant, if you factor in the bonus torture of travelling in sleeper coaches.

[ashokabs]

Interesting to see how things have changed over the past 30-35 years regarding train travel and tourist facilities. Looks like you went through more trouble than I have on long train journeys. What struck me was the unsocial manner of your fellow travellers. Unless this changes trains will not be used for travel by many domestic and foreign travellers. It is time to educate train travellers about the important aspects of ensuring that what you do does not hamper of trouble your fellow passengers. Only way to do this is disciplinary action - use the red hot poker theory of Douglas McGregor. When a person transgresses he or she should immediately be punished for maximum effect. Punishment can be a fine or whatever. For serious cases it should even mean loss of the berth or reserved seat. I guess your title of beautiful train journey might be rather tongue in cheek!

[G20Rider]

Nice travelogue and full credits for doing a family backpacking in public transport across India with kids. Not an easy task I must say.

And personally I do not like sleeper type trains in India exactly due to experiences you had. There is no personal space available. I prefer a chair car type seating for a where at least the seat and the small space in front of me is mine.

And I blame IR for this causing this mess by issuing unreserved tickets into a reserved compartments. Hopefully with Vande Bharat type trains becoming popular, I will have more such choices and avoid sleepers.

I’m ok with a reclining seat for up to 10 hours of journey.

[aargee]

Originally Posted by ashokabs

Looks like you went through more trouble than I have on long train journeys.

I would say, good learning experiences sir; no complaints, just sharing what we've experienced that's all. When we deliberately booked 2S in Duronto in October & 3AC on return, we were able to observe significant difference with the staffs behavior in IRCTC with being more polite on return. But then too early to comment.

BTW, what can be commented on this incident - Man boards Vande Bharat Express to take selfie, fined for ticketless travel after doors shut pls?

Originally Posted by G20Rider

And I blame IR for this causing this mess by issuing unreserved tickets into a reserved compartments. Hopefully with Vande Bharat type trains becoming popular, I will have more such choices and avoid sleepers.

No point blaming sir; we do what we do & keep moving; we need to do the BR sector once in 2S to see what more atrocities prevail.

BTW, in some of the sectors, Bangalore-Yeshwantpur, Madgaon-Mumbai & Mumbai-Ekta Nagar, we never witnessed TTE to verify our tickets. While, we had TTE verifying using a palm top in Vande Bharat express. Quite glad that all TTE accepting the tickets shown via SMS instead of insisting a printed copy.