I wish to share some points about my train Journey on 12297 AHMEDABAD PUNE AC Duronto on Sunday 5 Jun. I travelled from PUNE to JUNAGADH in Pune-Veraval Exp on 2 Jun & returned in durornto. My views given below are first hand which I experienced.
1. The train journey was very very JERKY throughout. Right from the very start, every acceleration & deceleration was accompanied with a jerk. This I believe is present in LHB coaches only. 3 days previous to that, I had travelled in 3A - PUNE VERAVAL exp, the journey was very smooth, no jerks & it was an ICF coach. Never had a good sleep in the jerky duronto.
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– 10 marks, LHB – 0 marks.
2. The side berth in the duronto 3A was less in width as compared to the side berth in Veraval express. In Veraval, I coud turn sideways properly, but not so in the Duronto. I had chosen side berth while booking, in both trains.
ICF – 10, LHB – 4.
3. In duronto, steps leading to upper berth (both in 3+3 & side 2) are so very narrow & small, that its very straining for a young individual to climb up COMFORTABLY. Forget about above Age-40 people, forget ladies, even gents have a tough time. The steps in Veraval coach were wide.
ICF – 10, LHB – 0
4. In duronto, there is no chain/rod from roof, with which a person can haul himself to the upper berth, whereas veraval had. The side bars fail miserably in hauling a person above. God bless the poor passengers.
ICF – 10, LHB – 0
5. In duronto, there is no charging point in side berths, whereas veraval had (in other ICF coaches, atleast the charging point can be put up, if not already). I guess its because of the huge window in LHB coaches. So you are at the mercy of passengers on other side.
ICF – 10, LHB – 0
6. There were no fans in the duronto, whereas Veraval had. Due to this, in duronto, people (including me) were sweating inside 20-25 mins before departure. Now, a fan would have really come handy here. Also many people had removed blankets in the dead of night, coz the coach was warm. Now, in Veraval also, I faced the same issue. I started the fan & went off to sleep. But in duronto, there was no fan. Do AC coach attendants/staff put on blower only, instead of AC, in the dead of night???
ICF – 10, LHB – 0
Btw, one thing I wish to mention, Veraval exp AC staff had cut AC & put on blower as train left Rajkot towards Veraval, bang in a hot summer afternoon. After 1.5 hrs, it was warm enough to cause us sweating. We started the fan & complained to the staff. The concerned person came, I followed him & saw him switching AC on. He said, “thoda problem thaa, abhi barabar ho gaya”. I smiled, coz this AC shutting off is widespread in Indian Railways Network.
OK…the main point I want to say is that, LHB coach did not provide me good comfort, whereas ICF coach did. I have read in diff blogs, that LHB handle accidents well than ICF coaches. But comfort is very bad. Can ICF coaches be incorporated with LHB like/adequate safety measures???