I did travel by 12278 Duronto from Puri to Howrah on 20/10/2012. I got a seat in C7. Here is the details of the journey :
It started from Puri sharp at 06:15am from platform no 5. The condition of the CC coaches was miserable. The seats were not reclining, the tray tables were broken. I assume these are old ICF coaches. We had to ask for the newspaper as the attendants were unwilling to give. We were given a bottle to Rail Neer.
The speed was nice and there were no...
more... unwanted stops. We were served with Breakfast while crossing Khurda Road. It consisted of 2 Breads, 1 Jam, 1 Butter, 1 Ketcup, 1 Fruit Juice, 1 Salt, 1 Black Pepper, 1 Tea Kit, 1 Double Omlette, Fried Potato pieces and Boiled Peas. The food was packed in aluminium foil but was cold. The breads were hard.
It gave the first technical halt at Balasore at 10:20am for 5 minutes. Then once again it ran with a good speed. Second round of food was served while crossing Hijili which consisted of Tomato Soup, 1 Butter, 1 Salt, 1 Pepper, 2 Soup sticks. However the sticks were very old and the soup was cold again.
The toilets were clean and the behavior of the staff was OK.
Later lunch was served before entering Kharagpur where the train had its second technical halt for 10 minutes and the cleaning of the coach windows and toilets were done.
The lunch consisted of 2 Rotis, Dal, Chicken curry, Salad, 2 Gulab Jamun, Sweet Curd, Jeera Rice. Again the food was cold
After crossing Mecheda the attendants came and served mouth freshener and toothpick and asked for tips.
The train came to repeated halts starting from Tikiapara and reached Howrah 25 minutes late.
Overall Experience :
Punctuality - 4/5
Speed - 5/5
Coach Condition - 3/5
Cleanliness - 4/5
Food Quantity - 5/5
Food Quality - 3/5
Staff - 5/5