Tejas Express chugs on with teething problems
MADURAI, MAY 01, 2019 00:00 IST
A view of one of the coaches of Tejas Express.G.
MADURAI, MAY 01, 2019 00:00 IST
A view of one of the coaches of Tejas Express.G.
MoorthyG_Moorthy
Swanky coaches, air-conditioned comfort make it a passenger’s dream train
After a long time since the launch of flagship trains of Madurai — Pandian Superfast Express and Vaigai Superfast Express — the Temple City got another Chennai-Madurai-Chennai train, Tejas Express, on March 1.
The service, with air-conditioned swanky coaches, was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.
Touted to be the best in class in pampering the passengers with its facilities and comfort at a premium fare, the coaches made at Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, got the attraction they deserved.
The train that is operated on six days a week (expect on Thursdays) leaves Chennai at 6 a.m. and reaches Madurai at 12.30 p.m. with just two stoppages at Tiruchi and Kodai Road.
In return direction, it leaves at 3 p.m. and arrives Chennai Egmore at 9.30 p.m. On many days, the passengers say, it arrives the destination before time.
Arun Shankar, 52, a resident of Madurai, who has travelled twice in the train, says he would prefer Tejas to air journey as it gives more comfort at a fare that is cheaper than air fare.
“I bet the comfort of the two + two seating arrangement in executive class is as good as those in the business class in private aircraft,” he says.
Stating that most of his travels are planned at the last minute, he says that he gets an assured seat in executive class on any working day and hence, has become its fan. This businessman has introduced this train to many of his friends and relatives. Railway officials say that the train has become so popular that it runs packed on many days as the summer vacation has peaked. Only a handful of seats are available in both the classes.
Complaints galore
However, within less than two months after its launch, passengers are complaining about malfunctioning of various new facilities in the brand new coaches.
The major complaint is about the breaking down of scores of infotainment system.
The LED screens mounted on the back of seats play pre-loaded movies of different languages or songs. “This was boasted as the major attraction of the train. But, with over 200 LED screens not functioning, the passengers are targeting us,” says one the Travelling Ticket Examiner.
Some of the passengers are not willing to change their seat where the screens function.
“They want us to set right the defect in the screen on their seat,” one of the TTE says.
A group of eight passengers, who travelled from Chennai, are appreciative of the comfort of the seating facility in the train. However, D. Dharmarajan, 52, complains that many of the LED screens are not working. Though he is happy about the service, he feels the food on board is not up to his expectation.
Shanthi Gunasekaran, 56, complains about the choking of toilet.
“We left home at 4 a.m. to board the train at 6 a.m. And should we not get a clean toilet? This problem was there even when I travelled in the train on the second day of its launch,” she says. A sign board on how to use the toilet will help first-time passengers.
Mr. Arun Shankar suggests deployment of on-board cleaning staff to overcome the choking problems in toilets.
He also says that the food served should be fine tuned to meet the expectations of south Indians.
He also feels that Rs. 355 for food is on the higher side and suggests that the running time of the train, if cut by 30 minutes to one hour, will attract more passengers.
Vasuki Vaseegaran, 58, is of the view that employing on-board staff who are conversant in Tamil will help a lot of passengers. “The train runs only in Tamil Nadu and more importantly to and from Madurai. There is no need for all of the staff to speak only in Hindi,” she says.
A veena vidwan, A. Bhalaji, complains of lack of cooling effect in the air-conditioned coaches. “Since the atmospheric temperature has soared now, if the temperature inside the coach is brought down further, it will be more comfortable,” he says.
J. Johan William, 71, is not happy with the rude behaviour of the catering staff who refused to offer him tea as he had not opted for the food served in the coach. “When they are offering me a bottle of water, why should the railway not offer tea? I could have bought a tea, but the staff sounded very rude,” the senior citizen complains. The TTE did not give him a complaint book. “He said he did not have one,” Mr. William says.
Though a few passengers feel that their experience with Tejas is good, a railway source says that the automated doors in some of the coaches — C2, C3 and C4 — are not functioning. “With just a couple of minutes’ halt at Tiruchi and Kodai Road, the doors have to be opened for the passengers to get down and get in on time. Two additional employees have been nominated to open the door manually from outside,” the TTE says.
Otherwise, all the doors of the coaches are operated by the guard.
A few sliding coach doors and electronically-operated Venetian blinds are not working and get stuck in the middle.
Swanky coaches, air-conditioned comfort make it a passenger’s dream train
After a long time since the launch of flagship trains of Madurai — Pandian Superfast Express and Vaigai Superfast Express — the Temple City got another Chennai-Madurai-Chennai train, Tejas Express, on March 1.
The service, with air-conditioned swanky coaches, was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi himself.
Touted to be the best in class in pampering the passengers with its facilities and comfort at a premium fare, the coaches made at Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, got the attraction they deserved.
The train that is operated on six days a week (expect on Thursdays) leaves Chennai at 6 a.m. and reaches Madurai at 12.30 p.m. with just two stoppages at Tiruchi and Kodai Road.
In return direction, it leaves at 3 p.m. and arrives Chennai Egmore at 9.30 p.m. On many days, the passengers say, it arrives the destination before time.
Arun Shankar, 52, a resident of Madurai, who has travelled twice in the train, says he would prefer Tejas to air journey as it gives more comfort at a fare that is cheaper than air fare.
“I bet the comfort of the two + two seating arrangement in executive class is as good as those in the business class in private aircraft,” he says.
Stating that most of his travels are planned at the last minute, he says that he gets an assured seat in executive class on any working day and hence, has become its fan. This businessman has introduced this train to many of his friends and relatives. Railway officials say that the train has become so popular that it runs packed on many days as the summer vacation has peaked. Only a handful of seats are available in both the classes.
Complaints galore
However, within less than two months after its launch, passengers are complaining about malfunctioning of various new facilities in the brand new coaches.
The major complaint is about the breaking down of scores of infotainment system.
The LED screens mounted on the back of seats play pre-loaded movies of different languages or songs. “This was boasted as the major attraction of the train. But, with over 200 LED screens not functioning, the passengers are targeting us,” says one the Travelling Ticket Examiner.
Some of the passengers are not willing to change their seat where the screens function.
“They want us to set right the defect in the screen on their seat,” one of the TTE says.
A group of eight passengers, who travelled from Chennai, are appreciative of the comfort of the seating facility in the train. However, D. Dharmarajan, 52, complains that many of the LED screens are not working. Though he is happy about the service, he feels the food on board is not up to his expectation.
Shanthi Gunasekaran, 56, complains about the choking of toilet.
“We left home at 4 a.m. to board the train at 6 a.m. And should we not get a clean toilet? This problem was there even when I travelled in the train on the second day of its launch,” she says. A sign board on how to use the toilet will help first-time passengers.
Mr. Arun Shankar suggests deployment of on-board cleaning staff to overcome the choking problems in toilets.
He also says that the food served should be fine tuned to meet the expectations of south Indians.
He also feels that Rs. 355 for food is on the higher side and suggests that the running time of the train, if cut by 30 minutes to one hour, will attract more passengers.
Vasuki Vaseegaran, 58, is of the view that employing on-board staff who are conversant in Tamil will help a lot of passengers. “The train runs only in Tamil Nadu and more importantly to and from Madurai. There is no need for all of the staff to speak only in Hindi,” she says.
A veena vidwan, A. Bhalaji, complains of lack of cooling effect in the air-conditioned coaches. “Since the atmospheric temperature has soared now, if the temperature inside the coach is brought down further, it will be more comfortable,” he says.
J. Johan William, 71, is not happy with the rude behaviour of the catering staff who refused to offer him tea as he had not opted for the food served in the coach. “When they are offering me a bottle of water, why should the railway not offer tea? I could have bought a tea, but the staff sounded very rude,” the senior citizen complains. The TTE did not give him a complaint book. “He said he did not have one,” Mr. William says.
Though a few passengers feel that their experience with Tejas is good, a railway source says that the automated doors in some of the coaches — C2, C3 and C4 — are not functioning. “With just a couple of minutes’ halt at Tiruchi and Kodai Road, the doors have to be opened for the passengers to get down and get in on time. Two additional employees have been nominated to open the door manually from outside,” the TTE says.
Otherwise, all the doors of the coaches are operated by the guard.
A few sliding coach doors and electronically-operated Venetian blinds are not working and get stuck in the middle.
