Trip summary
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Despite the events leading up to this journey which I wrote about earlier, the actual trip itself was pretty mundane and completely devoid of any surprises. The Rajdhani received its due priority and ran exactly to its schedule all the way. Despite some crawling close to the end we still reached about 10 mins ahead of schedule. The only unexpected experience was a lot of jerks reminiscent of CBC rakes of yore. Not sure of the reasons for the same.
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that is excellent news for most people, a Railfan would be probably disappointed due to the lack of any surprises or suspense related to possible overtakes, looping etc.
The coach interiors and facilities are in desperate need of upgrades to modern specifications. At a minimum, every seat should have its own charging point to avoid conflict among passengers. Adding some USB ports might not be a bad idea either. The seat fabric could do with some upgrades as well. Providing wifi service on the train would be a great offering too, although that is probably already in the works considering the Howrah Rajdhani already has it.
The cleaning of the passenger areas was very good, however common areas e.g. the space near the doors, the vestibule and the toilets was pretty filthy and was clearly not being maintained through the journey. This needs to be addressed too.
The food being served has not changed in ages and it shows. With modern trends towards healthy eating, the kind of food being served also needs a re-look to accommodate slightly healthier options which doesn't need to be more costly. Also, the staff should be instructed to not crib about offering two water bottles if requested.
With so many different train types now operating on the IR network e.g. Humsafar, Antyodaya, Tejas etc. in addition to the earlier variants already in existence, IR needs to ensure that the premium Rajdhani brand maintains its distinct identity.
Thanks for following this trip and reading the blog.