Mar 23, 2009 04:42 PM
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I have traveled by the Mumbai-Jaipur Garib Rath Express.Here's what I observed :
1) VERY GOOD VALUE FOR MONEY : Given the attractive fares, its definately the best you can get in that fare, Air ticket to the same destination would be 10 times more expensive !
2) EXCELLENT SPEED : It travels almost like Rajdhani, stopping only at Major stations. (The top speed I saw on the in built indicator was 119 km/hr ! )
3) ONLINE BOOKING : Booking through irctc.co.in is a breeze, no more waiting in long queues :)4) WAITING LIST CLEARED : You can expect 2 or 3 additional coaches being attached to clear the HUGE waiting list.Here's where things can be improved :
1) CABIN ATTENDANT : The Cabin attendant whose job is to provide bedding rolls on request (@ 25 Rs per bedding) acts like a KING ! All passengers have to line up and pay him & carry the bedding themselves, He wont bring the bedding to your seat !
2) CROWD : This is something that's expected and not much can be done abt this...Very loud and at times unruly crowd. But then we get such crowd even in aircrafts...dont we ;)
3) CLEANLINESS : Since the dustbins provided underneath the wash basins are too small, garbage starts overflowing quickly, moreover we Indians have the tendency to litter even if dustbins are there...so again, a change in Mentality is required, on the part of the Indian Railways...they can think of getting the dustbin cleared up every 6 hours perhaps :)
4)AIR CONDITIONING : Unlike Rajdhani/Shatabdi, the cabin attendant in Garib Rath is least bothered to check the cabin cooling, so either you freeze or you start to sweat...all depends on the mood of the cabin attendant !
As a rule Airconditioners are to be switched on atleast 30 minutes prior to departure time, but in Garib Rath it has ebcome a standard practice to turn on the AC only after all the passengers have boarded and train is ready for departure.5)FREQUENCY : Given the popularity of this train, sad to see that it is still not a Daily service :(6) NO PANTRY CAR : No Pantry car means you have to rely on food provided by "Meals-on-wheels" catering, who most probably uplift food stuff from enroute stations. But not that bad either :)
