Travel India: Sense and nonsense of air and train fares

My travel these days is mostly between Chennai and Cochin. Usually I go by train, Second Class AC lower berth. It is a comfortable overnight journey. But on 17^th of this month I had to fly to Cochin and return by train, Third Class AC because no other tickets were available.

During the comparatively long (one and a half hours) ATR flight to Cochin I had a look at the fare structure given on the printout ticket. The break up is: Base fare 1860, Fuel surcharge 2350, Air traffic congestion fee (whatever that means) 150, and something marked WO, 225. Total Rs.4585. Quite steep, I must say. The concession senior citizens used to enjoy, is no longer there.

I had to shell out that much money because of a faux pas. I had asked for ticket by Trivandrum Mail. The departure time of this train from Chennai Central is 8.15 P.M. Just before starting for the railway station I had a look at the ticket and was mortified to find that it was for Trivandrum Express leaving at 4.15 P.M.! I had to book an air ticket online. The moral: always check the ticket as soon as you receive it.

Now, about the train fare. My return ticket was reserved on Tatkal system. In this procedure, after the allotted quota for regular booking is taken up, one can obtain a berth by paying a hefty fee. The more the seats apportioned for Tatkal, the more money the railways make. The total number of seats on the train remains the same.

There is some unfairness about Tatkal. It does not differentiate between senior citizens and others. Everybody pays the same. The very concept of special consideration for the elders is nullified.

Last month onward journey by 2 AC from Chennai to Cochin booked through Tatkal, cost me Rs.1376. For return, again by 2AC, reserved from regular quota was only Rs.795. This month, for return from Cochin by 3AC, booked through Tatkal, the fare was Rs.1093. This does not make sense to me.

Tatkal arrangement could be useful in situations where one has to travel urgently on short notice. But it should not be used as a profit making procedure. Only a minimum number of seats should be kept apart for Tatkal. Again, a just fare structure would be: regular charge minus senior citizen concession plus Tatkal fees.

I hope the Railways would look into this.

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Also see:

Bangalore: Flying in, flying out

The romance of railways

Nightmare on a train

[Due to certain problems I could not post for a week. Hope to restart regular postings. I thank the readers for being patient.]

Last Saturday (19^th) I boarded the Chennai-Trivandrum Mail, for Cochin. This is a fast train (they call it ‘super fast’) by Indian standards. Leaving Chennai at 8p.m., it normally reaches Cochin at 6.45a.m. Each time I travel by this train, there seems to be some improvement in the quality of the rake and standards of cleanliness particularly of the toilets.

I had an early dinner and went to sleep. At about 2 a.m. I woke up, disturbed by the sound of people moving around. The train had stopped. A lady official and a policeman were next to my berth. They asked me to identify my baggage. On asking what was the problem, I was told that an important bag was misplaced and they were looking for it.

I expected the train to restart soon, but the wait continued and I could not get back to sleep. After a couple of hours I went outside and found that the train was parked on a sideline at Podannur Station near Coimbatore. Some people who were standing around in groups told me that there was a bomb scare and expert squads were checking the train.

My first thought was that the officials should have, as a precautionary step, asked the passengers to vacate the train. That of course would have created panic at a time when the passengers were deep asleep. And without any trained person around to guide them, there would have been chaos and people could have got hurt.

Whoever was in charge of the operation took a difficult decision to carry out the search with least disturbance to the travelers. When the train finally resumed the journey after a three-hour stoppage, some people were criticizing the inefficiency of the Railways. Most of them would have realized the reason for the delay only when they read about the bomb scare in the next day’s newspapers.

We certainly have to congratulate and thank the personnel of the bomb squads all over the world. These brave men and women put their lives on line almost every day to save the lives of others.

Ends.

Also see: The romance of railways

The romance of railways

I find this public domain picture of manpowered railway inspection trolley from Wikimedia Commons fascinating. It was taken in the North West Frontier Province circa 1903. Even today, a century later, you can see the same scene except for the Western clothes, all over India. What intrigued me was why this simple vehicle has not been mechanized even in the 21st century.

Last night at a dinner party I met an old friend who retired as General Manager of Southern Railway. He gave me the answer. They do have motorized inspection trolleys. But those are classified as ‘trains’. To use them on the tracks other scheduled trains have to be stopped and that is a complicated business. Push trolleys do not have this problem. They are light and can be taken off the tracks to allow trains to pass.

The former GM did not say this, but I think that another reason could be to retain the labor strength. The worker’s unions are not likely to agree to any manpower reduction. Lalu’s management miracle is filling the railway coffers so why cut corners?

There is a romance about trains, like ships, which is something that the airplanes lack, for whatever reason. This is particularly so in the case of the Indian Railways. So much has been written about this massive organization, its historic trains and the committed people who man them.

Given below are two links related to the subject. You are likely to find the articles interesting.
http://angloindian.wordpress.com/2007/08/28/anglo-indians-contributions-to-indian-railways-by-v-anand-gm-southern-railway-2003/
http://maddy06.blogspot.com/2007/01/those-were-days-train-rides-part-1.html

Ends.

Also see: Travel: A round trip by train

Travel: A round trip by train

Last Thursday I went to Bangalaore by the Shadabthi Express. The first thing that struck me was the difference in the onward and return fares. The latter was lesser. It took me some time to sort that out.

It was my maiden trip by the much touted Shadabthi. Clean compartment. The wide seats, two abreast with fold back middle arm rest, were comfortable. The airconditioning was just right. The toilets were spotless. They had paper rolls and genuine undiluted liquid soap.

Shortly after we left Chennai Central at 5.30 p.m. high tea was laid out – sandwich, samosa, wafers in three different flavors, and so on. Most of the passengers stuffed the goodies into their bags.

Then it was dinner time. Again substantial quantities served by smartly attired bearers. Quite tasty too. All included in the fare. Read for sometime and presto we were in Bangalore Cantt. The distance of about 355kms was covered in approximately 4 ½ hours.

The return train yesterday was to start at 6 a.m. Reached the City Station at 5.30 only to be told that Shadabthi was cancelled. Informing passengers over phone about such changes is apparently not a part of the railway culture.

After a while I was told that three additional AC chair cars were being attached to the Lal Baugh Express leaving at 6.30. I got a seat in a 1992 vintage coach. One could buy breakfast from vendors (railway employees?) wearing clothes that required washing a week ago.

Half an hour out of Chennai Central it was announced that the train was being diverted to Egmore Terminus. The reason? Two bogies of another train had derailed at Central Station. But that had happened the previous night. The passengers could have been informed even before our train left Bangalore.

Since my driver has a mobile phone I could direct him to Egmore. Passengers who didn’t have that facility had to engage taxi or auto rickshaw from Egmore to Central for boarding their cars.
One must however acknowledge that the hefty difference between Shadabthi and the Lal Baugh Express fares was refunded within half hour of reaching Egmore at the end of the 6 ½ hours journey.

Now, the reason for the fare disparity between the Bangalore bound and return Shadabthi - on the outward journey high tea and dinner are served while only breakfast is provided when you come back.

The Shadabthi Express is good – when it runs!

Ends.

Also see:
Memories: Shoeless on suburban train.
Travel: Shendurney, the Royal Tree
Bangalore: Of a club, a park and a Chief Secretary couple