Here is another new invention from Indian Railways. Now 81 berths in a coach instead of 72.! So if you have side berths then mind well.there are 3 berths now in most of the new coaches. Side lower, side middle and side upper.
So what is the problem? If you are aged, more than 5’ 5’ in height then side upper is a nightmare. The upper curve at the railcoach is kissing your head even if you are sleeping. This is becoz, the coach size and dimensions are same. Just one more berth is "inserted" between earlier SL and SU.
Recently I had to travel with my 4 family members(including 2 Sr ctzn and one 6 month old daughter). I had booked 4 confirmed tickets of 2649 YPR-NZM Sampark kranti express till Nagpur. I did it from IRCTC e-ticket booking and there was no option of Side middle berth( nobody will chose this I know!). When I entered in AC3 coach, everybody was in the gross confusion state. Some Sr ctzn who had applied for Lower berth had now middle or side upper.The AC coach is usually congested because people come with luggage(and off-late laptops) which do not fit beneath the seats! In addition, there is another "induced" luggage of pillows, blankets and bedsheets to be carried which occupy significant space.
So my seats which were already not in order(but in same coach) got scattered. The side middle is just a curse!
My suggestions and also grievances:
1) Can’t railway add another bogie when WL is too big?
2) Can’t railway increase the coach size at least at the upper corner?
3) Can’t IRCTC put the side middle option while booking e-tickets so that informed decision can be made?
4) How can we come to know if the train is having 9 berths in a cluster(total 81) when while booking nothing is mentioned?
Is this a new way railway wants to earn money? Previous innovative idea was to make most of the trains as superfast, so that Rs.20/- can be charged as SF charge but journey time gets reduced by 30 mins only(Yes most of the trains run like that)
Any comments?