It’s after more than 12-years that I took a train ride in India. Had been hearing positive raves on the Rajdhani Express. Got the opportunity to try their 1st class for a Bangalore-Delhi trip.
Some observations are in order –
The train compartment certainly is much cleaner. There are two arrangements in the 1A – A coupe which accommodates just two people and offers great privacy and comfort; then there’s cabin that accommodates four. The doors of the cabin and coups can be locked from inside. Additionally, both the windows and doors have drapes to block out sunlight and other curious passengers. The drapes however were hopelessly dirty! The very thought of touching them to move them about would require you to sanitize your hands! It’s not very evident in the picture, but below is an image of the drapes on the door of our coup.
The compartment offered good features too. For instance, we had a 110V AC outlet for use with laptop and battery chargers for the cellphone. They were thoughtful enough to provide the universal plug point that takes in both the US and the Indian plugs. See for yourself.
The toilets and the bathroom had a similar plug outlet too for use with shavers etc. but it didn’t have enough juice to drive my electric shaver. Luckily enough though, the one in the compartment was good enough for that.
The dinner and lunch were accompanied with soup (either tomato or cream of vegetable). For dessert we were provided with ice-cream (butter scotch, strawberry, or vanilla). I liked the soup and other meals, but the dessert was terrible. They were among the worst ice-creams I’ve ever had. Till date. The veg. lunch/dinner included two parathas, jeera rice, dal, a fry curry, a gravy curry (either paneer based or some kofta), pickle, and curd. Sumptuous and filling. For the non-veg., the gravy curry of the veg. was replaced with either chicken or egg curry. Breakfast offering included oats, milk, bread, butter, and cutlet. Apart from the regular three course meal, they also had tea/coffee twice a day at ~6am and another at ~5pm. There was accompaniments with the tea – oily and ugly samosa, biscuits,…
There are other features of the 1A I liked. For instance, one end of the compartment offered a shower. Not a very roomy shower compartment, but enough for an average sized person to clean himself/herself up without any risk. Each seat/birth was also provided with a pillow, bed-spread (or should I call seat-spread!), a blanket, and a towel. To me shower was a welcome relief. I find it very discomforting to start my day without a good shower.
There was difference between the B’lore -> Delhi and the reverse journey. On the Delhi -> Bangalore leg, we were welcomed with a rose flower and cold-moist-towel-freshner. Furthermore, the lunch and dinner paraphernalia included an additional plate on the Delhi -> Bangalore leg that was missing in the onward journey.
Things I did not like –
1) We had to remind the janitorial staff to clean the toilets on multiple occasions. They sometimes needed multiple reminders to do their job.
2) On the final day, you’d be lucky to find any tissue in the toilet. Sometimes, they’ll be out of soap too.
3) The soap solution container seemed terribly dirty as if it could have “things” growing on and in it. Despicable.
4) Tips: Although it categorically states that giving tips is not allowed, the service staff will move around at the end collecting tips from passengers. In itself it’s no big deal, but the least they can do is earn that tips through proper service.
Some random photos from the trip –
All in all, it was a good trip. The train, at times, was bumpy. We had to hold down our dinner tables to prevent our food and utensils from getting knocked over. Felt a little like the Indian roads. Pot-holes and speed-breakers on the Indian railway tracks! Add to that, I felt the transportation/ride was rather inefficient. For instance, when I recorded our moving speed for 2-hrs., the peak speed was ~140kmph, but the average speed was ~40kmph! That’s really pathetic. They have multiple seemingly random accelerations and decelerations making the entire process inefficient. The Rajdhani too had quite a few unscheduled stops – why?
On a side note, I wonder what the Railway Ministry has been doing with all their revenues? The condition of most trains and stations haven’t changed from what I’ve seen >12-yrs ago. They seriously need to consider sprucing up all the platforms and the trains. Clean up the tracks and work on better waste management from the trains. Increase security with patrolling police and CCTVs. Make railways more inviting and exciting for everyone.