Indian Railways
Poor service

To

The Manager

Sub: Complaint regarding poor service and assistance in the Chennai-Howrah Mail

I am extremely disappointed to inform you that the service and quality of the Indian railways, which is a pride of our nation has deteriorated. I was traveling along with my parents from Chennai to Cuttack by the CHENNAI-HOWRAH MAIL on 21.07.2010 departing from Chennai Central Station at 23:45hrs. We had three reserved tickets in d AC 2 tier coach, i.e A1 berth no. 34, 35, 36.

The AC was not working properly from the time the train left Chennai station. Whole night only 1 unit was working making the journey during the night uncomfortable. Next day morning, i.e 22.07.2010 the AC was completely inoperative from 9:00hrs in the morning. My father along with some of the co-passengers lodged a complaint with the respective authorities and we were assured that the problem will be fixed soon. At about 10:00hrs even the fans were switched off making it impossible to sit in a closed tin box with no ventilation. The passengers were profusely sweating and had to keep the doors of the coach open for some air to pass but it certainly was of no use. There were people of various age groups - infants, small children, senior citizens, traveling in that coach. My mother herself suffers from Claustrophobia syndrome. Can you imagine the plight of the passengers traveling? What is the use of paying full money for a reserved ticket in an AC 2 tier coach when we are not given the proper facilities nor is our complaint catered to?

When the train reached the Vishakapatnam Station at about 13:00hrs my father personally went down to the Station Master's office to inform him of the prevailing situation but he was unavailable. The passengers told the concerned workers in the train to fix the problem at Vishakapatnam Station and call for adequate help if needed as Vishakapatnam is a major station. But this suggestion was also not adhered to and the train left the station without the AC being repaired. The situation gradually became unbearable inside the coach. The workers attending the problem were only pretending to fix the AC without any knowledge of how it should be done. When asked to report the matter to the concerned senior authorities the technician answered that he had no idea who should be informed and that he could not do much bout it. He told us to adjust with only 1 unit being operative. Why should we adjust when we are paying for that luxury? Will you return half the ticket fare because we availed only half the facility? There was no improvement in the situation till we reached Cuttack at 22:30hrs, which is an hour and 15minutes late of the scheduled arrival and I am sure that the train would have reached Howrah in the same condition as well.

The journey was extremely uncomfortable and caused a great deal of mental stress. As a consumer I feel my rights have been violated. The Indian Railways is a mode of public transport but what is the use if it fails to perform the one task which it is supposed to - i.e convenient and comfortable traveling for the common public. It is indeed a matter of shame and I am sure that after this painful journey I'll think twice before traveling with the railways and will also pass the caution message to others in my knowledge. Losing a few passengers might not make a big difference to your industry now but eventually it will if there is no improvement in the standards of the Railways.

Yours sincerely,

Sohini Mahapatra

Company: Indian Railways
Country: India
State: Orissa
City: Cuttack

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