Christmas 2023 was special as my wife and I spent it in Chennai to celebrate my granddaughter's christening (naming ceremony).
Dr Twinkle booked the tickets for her husband (my son), her two children, my wife and me by Vande Bharat about 2 months before the trip.
This was the first our first ever trip in the really fast, fully air-conditioned, daytime train from Coimbatore to Chennai (and back).
We reached the railway station half an hour early for the 6am station. The train looked posh.
The compact engine was not separate, being attached to a compartment both at the front and the back of the train.
The number of carriages was limited. Seats were well spaced out with 3 - 2 configuration in the general chair car compartment with really large glass windows to view the exterior.
Doors were automatic and the train could only start after the doors were closed. OK, so far it was like metro trains except all were reserved seats.-with no standees so characteristic of our metro trains.
You could sit or you could sleep as the interior was peaceful! No hawkers in any compartment.
The train stopped at highly selected stations only for 2 minutes
The early birds were allotted to the centre tables facing each other.
Your seats were spacious even in the general coach with foldable armrests like in aircraft 😃
Adequate space in front to hold an infant. Spacious leg room.
All the dynamic data like speed, distance to the next station and emergency numbers were displayed continuously on LCD screens. Speaker Announcements in English, Hindi and Tamil, just as visual displays too.
We remembered the day before the journey that we had not opted for the food on board, but Dr Twinkle managed to google for filter coffee and fresh breakfast at Salem for us. This was delivered at the coach's footsteps for COD (cash on delivery) from the railway canteen, after quoting an OTP. Everything depended on the total punctuality of the train and it all clicked effectively.
WiFi was limited only to rail and government advertising materials.
Positives of Vande Bharat trip were many like punctuality, courtesy by TTE and railway staff, great seats, functioning AC coaches, decent toilets, and continuous visual displays.
The overhead luggage storage shelves could take on larger and heavier suitcases than in aeroplanes.
Infants (less than 12 months)need some waking after feeds, to get them out of boredom. The aisles were broad and had handles on the side of seats to walk. The train was ideally built with all these in mind, especially moving at nearly 130- 135 km per hour.
My 7-year-old grandson and I walked up and inspected the Executive Class (EC). More spacious, bigger seats on a 2 - 2 configuration. The twins' seats could be rotated to watch the large windows by turning them 90 degrees. Food too had more varieties (optional non-veg food) in the EC. The cost of the ticket was double that of the general chair cars which was fair enough.
There were some negatives too, like all things in public life.
* Despite public funds raised out of our tax money, the self-flagellation of a few personalities via video loops could have been substituted with growth plans for the public and the Indian nation.
* All the excellent canteen staff could converse only in Hindi with only a very sketchy English - no Tamil in Tamil Nadu. Best to remember clear communication is needed for effective delivery of service to the public.
* The food was indeed decent, though in large volume. However, the food which got delivered to us from the canteens was fresher with filter coffee. Many around us asked us how this could done for their own future use.
* WiFi is WiFi. At present it is used only for local railway internet. This currently can be extended to the general Internet as well, to include Google, YouTube, Gmail, and WhatsApp, instead of only watching what is shown at present. Most passengers would appreciate this gesture more.
So, how are these trains going to fair in future?
I met some colleagues who prefer to take this train to travel daily to work in faraway cities like Erode, and Salem, as the train is always punctual, all seats are reserved, good ambience and rapid long-distance transport.
As of now, there are 35 Vande Bharat trains are running in India. Hopefully, by August 2024, 75 are projected to be effectively running. 8-car and 15-car services are now available. Punctual, efficient, rapid, and safe trains will always be popular among the public.
So extrapolating these feelings, Vande Bharath trains will be popular if we maintain the present standards.
