The passengers claimed that despite the inconvenience they suffered, no railway officer came forward to help them, or even gave them a patient hearing.
Almost 100 passengers of Pragati Express were left fuming on Tuesday morning after they were forced to travel in a crowded general compartment, though they had booked and paid for an air-conditioned ride from Pune to Mumbai. The passengers claimed that despite the inconvenience they suffered, no railway officer came forward to help them, or even gave them a patient hearing. The passengers had booked seats in the C-2 compartment of the AC chair car, but due to some technical issues, the compartment was detached from the train and replaced with a general coach.
According to passengers of the C-2 compartment of the AC chair car, the general compartment they had to travel in was ‘dirty, dingy and smelly’. The compartment was also overcrowded, they said, adding that many of them couldn’t get a seat.
“There were many passengers who… had to stand throughout the three-and-a-half hour journey, as there were not enough seats to accommodate 102 passengers,” said Siddharth Tiwari, a HR manager who was travelling in the train. The fare of a berth in an AC chair car is Rs 347, while that of a berth in the general compartment is Rs 100. Pragati Express has only two AC compartments.
Tiwari said on Tuesday morning, he had received a message from the IRCTC, informing him that the coach that they had booked tickets for was not available due to some reasons. But the message, Tiwari said, didn’t prepare him for the “terrible experience”. He said that while he had complained via the Railway Minister’s Twitter handle, he didn’t get a satisfying answer.
“I received a response from the Pune DRM’s Twitter handle, which asked me to contact the TTE. What could the TTE do about it? When I spoke to one, he told me that I could request a partial refund by using the IRCTC website or visit CST with for a TDR (Ticket Deposit Receipt),” said Tiwary.
Anand Gujar, a marketing professional, who also travelled in the general compartment, said, “Not a single food vendor turned up during the entire journey. Other non-reserved passengers boarded the train and it was full. When we approached the TTE with our complaints, they couldn’t help us…”.
Responding to the complaints, Manoj Jhanvar, PRO of Pune Division, said the railways had tried its best to ensure that the passengers were not inconvenienced. “The capacity of the coach was much higher than that of the AC chair car… and we have deployed additional TTEs so that other, non-reserved passengers don’t board the special coach. Those who apply will get a refund,” said Jhanvar.
