Feb 23, 2009 09:04 AM
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If you live in Mumbai and have a connection with Delhi, surely you have heard of the Garib Rath Express.
For the newbies, it is a low cost all AC train service that agrees to ferry passengers at less than half the price of a Rajdhani 3 tier AC. Here is my first experience on this train
Pre-Boarding
I have always believed that online services is the way to go. I believe IRCTC is doing a tremendous service to those who are in time crunched situations most of the times. If you intend to travel by Garib Rath, please note that it is one of the most sought after tickets across all travel sectors so be ready to book up to 60-90 days in advance.
Additionally the train runs only 3 days a week - Wednesday, Friday and Sunday from New Delhi and Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from Mumbai. I believe this is because the train has been specially modified to accomodate more passengers and as such only 2 physical trains exist shuttling between Delhi and Mumbai.
Booking on IRCTC was a breeze and I promptly got my coach and seat number. One more point to note for this train is that they try to accomodate as many passengers as possible. I recently booked this train for my parents to visit me in Mumbai and at the time of booking they were waitlisted around 100.
On most trains this would be a dead deal but I learnt from a friend that the train is authorised to add upto 3-4 additional compartments in order to accomodate upto 300 waitlists. Fair enough, so I decided to wait and guess what, they DID get allotted the extra compartments and had a confirmed seat 2-3 days before departure! So next time you see a waitlist number like 200, dont fret, for all you know, you may get an allocation.
At the Station
The train departs from Bandra station which is preferred by me as I stay in the suburbs. It also lands up at Hazrat Nizamuddin in New Delhi which is also much closer to my home. I guess one of the reasons for boarding from "Non Priority" stations is the fact that it is a low cost service and the authorities would rather use a lower occupancy station. No complaints whatsover :-)
The train's appearance was a little putting off in the beginning. The coaches are colored either deep pale green or violet. I had not seen these colors before so it was a bit funny to see the green long monster roll into Bandra. The train runs in 2 configurations - AC Chair Car and 3 Tier AC. All compartments are air-conditioned and no 2nd class seats.
On Board
The 3 tier AC coaches were a mix and match. Some seated 72 passengers, some 82 and some upto 85!. I strolled inside in the various compartments and found that excess space was utilized by adding more berths towards the beginning and end of coaches.
The seat was a tad cramped. Say 10% smaller than a Rajdhani 3 Tier AC so had to adjust a little bit. There was sufficient lighting and the airconditioning was perfect!. I picked up an Agatha Christie novel and spent most of my evening reading away.
The train takes closer to 17 hours to reach its destination and halts at 4-5 stations during the entire trip. Considering this was a low cost carrier, the fact that the authorities kept timeliness in mind was a big plus to the train.
There was a regular paid service of hot snacks and dinner requests. Additionally, a bedding service comprising of a pillow, 2 bedsheets and a blanket was available for a payment of INR 25. I took a plate of samosas and tea and did not complain on both grounds. The bedding was sufficient, clean and comfortable.
My train left bang on time and reached around 10 mins late. No complaints as I got down into the Delhi chill. Overall I paid less than INR 700 (including IRCTC service charges) and reached Delhi overnight in air conditioned comfort and getting a sleep of over 6 hours. I think thats as close to bliss as I could get ! :-)
