[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by arnav17

The Railway minister of India Shri Ashwini Vaishnav unvieled the Sleeper Coach prototype in Bengaluru today at the BEML and also laid the foundation store for a new hangar.

The sleeper train looks great IMHO but it won't take long for the public to misuse it and ruin it. There is always someone who wants to spoil the facilities given for greater good.

What are your thoughts on this?

Originally Posted by ads11

From what I can tell in the videos we got to see 3AC and 2AC right (going by the three and two berths respectively)?

I think a sleeper version would be lovely. I'd be up for trying it on a cross country journey for a change from flying.

From the 1960s, ever since I can remember my train travels till the last decade the quality of service, cleanliness, coaches of the Indian Railways only deteriorated consistently. Very glad to see these modern trains and interiors. This coach seems to be made of modern light weight materials and certainly has a more contemporary look. kudos to the Indian Railways for turning things around.

[GoBabyGo]

Hi, VB sleeper coach is fantastic. However, we should not compare 2024 design with 1980 / 1990 design.

Our premium trains, Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Tejas, Gatiman, Duranto all are very good trains, at the price per seat they are available.

I have travelled in Vande Bharat Train and realize that the problem is not our trains, the problem is our railway tracks which are not capable to handle speed above 70kmph.

If I were the railway minister, then probably I would stop train service for 3 months and spend 80k crores to improve the track across India (with the help of China, Japan & Europe) so that our tracks can handle speed upto 200kmph.

[MyLife_MyCar]

Originally Posted by GoBabyGo

… the problem is not our trains, the problem is our railway tracks which are not capable to handle speed above 70kmph.

Tracks are capable of handling high speeds, just not entirely across the nation. Just like we have different quality roads capable of different speeds. Railway tracks are the same.

If I were the railway minister, then probably I would stop train service for 3 months and spend 80k crores to improve the track across India

I have a different view. There’s no need to upgrade the existing tracks and disrupt the service. Not every train will and should run at 200kmph.

A better approach would be to lay down a new network of this high-speed tracks, with proper safety barriers, that will only be used by the high-speed trains. This will ensure that such trains are not slowed down due to other passenger trains and goods trains. That will also allow railways to charge a premium for these services and will be used only by the people who are willing to pay / afford such a premium.

[SR-71]

It's been a while since I travelled in night sleeper trains, but if memory serves me right, the problems with middle berths were always those hooks and chains that over time get misassigned leading to a relatively insecure locking of the middle berth. The newer coaches seem to replace those chains with some sort of metal strips. I wonder if this is abuse friendly or poses more risk than benefits. Also, it's interesting they did not showcase the 2A coaches and the 1A coaches. It would be nice to see those coaches. Will definitely want to take a trip in this night sleeper before maintenance takes the coaches downhill.

[LordSharan]

Here's a walk through video of the train interiors

Twitter

[am1m]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

From the 1960s, ever since I can remember my train travels till the last decade the quality of service, cleanliness, coaches of the Indian Railways only deteriorated consistently.

Well sir, I can only speak of my experiences on the South and South-Western Railways, but at least for most of the trains originating out of Bangalore, things have improved a lot, at least in the reserved AC coaches. The train journeys I remember as a child in the 80s and 90s were as you have described in terms of cleanliness and the attitude of the railway employees. And that put me off train travel once I started working. But since the past decade, I've rediscovered train travel again. (Also because flying has become more painful, in fact I'd say that is where things have deteriorated a lot (distances to the airport, frequent cancellations, etc.) It's just more convenient to get to a railway station (especially now with the Metro in cities) and take an overnight train for the shorter distances.)

So I've been taking train journeys at least once every two months, most times at least once a month for the past few years. Things are not all good all the time, but at least in terms of cleanliness, and running on time, there's a world of improvement in the AC coaches and train stations. The VB trains look like a further step up.

[ninjatalli]

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

From the 1960s, ever since I can remember my train travels till the last decade the quality of service, cleanliness, coaches of the Indian Railways only deteriorated consistently. Very glad to see these modern trains and interiors. This coach seems to be made of modern light weight materials and certainly has a more contemporary look. kudos to the Indian Railways for turning things around.

Disagree.

We have been extremely active users of Indian railways since early 1980s; with atleast 10+ journeys every year; and 1/3 of them being multi-day journeys. All thanks to a family that was split across multiple states. Even today; our default option of travel is the train.

80s & 90s: Trains were the main option given flights were few and expensive. But there was no punctuality; cleanliness was bare minimum and service was dependent on which train and railway zones one traveled through (some trains would have pantry services, others none). But still they took you to the destination eventually; we would be quite happy if our long distance trains were less than 4 hours late at max.

2000s & early '10s: Increased frequency; online services for booking facilities helped a lot although it was more of a lottery system for specific routes. It helped that the services on trains improved as well as dependability (on-time, etc.). Primarily the long distance trains that cross different railway zones became much better operated.

'15 - now: There's more showcase (read:chest-beating) efforts but underlying services are definitely improving. Online / web based services have massively improved; train food quality has becomes more bland-ish but one knows what one will get across any train; so they are consistent. The focus is more on being profitable (lesser # of SL trains, etc.) but the side benefit is services is gradually improving over time; especially from a cleanliness aspect across trains and stations.

[G20Rider]

Obviously looks better than the current bare basic 50s style metal sleepers with chains dangling around. Good job IR, hope it’s hard wearing and able to withstand the abuse that’s coming its way.

However I think these interiors should not be exclusive to VBs and railways should roll out these on standard LHB coaches too. While I would love to see all trains of India converted to VB style train sets, fact is that there are 1000s of LHB coaches already running on the tracks and more are being produced. Like it or not these coaches are here to stay for many more decades. And for a typical passenger, given the interior remains the same, they won’t care if it is a Vande Bharat or LHB locomotive. (Old ICF coaches really are antique and should be scrapped as soon as possible)

I wish IR will consider rolling out the same interior standards and service for all its trains (Vande Bharat seater vs LHB chair cars and Vande Bharat sleeper vs LHB sleeper)

[PreludeSH]

Looks very good. They should do something about the toilets and how to keep stations clean and dry. On the upper berths a glass window with shutter or blinds would have added a lot to airiness.
I have travelled in a sleeper only once and I find the chair car trains cleaner and open since the distances I travel are less than 300 kms

[manincar]

VB is my preferred mode of travel for same day return journey between Ahmedabad and Surat/Vapi. The quality and feel of the train is way better than other premium trains like Tejas and Shatabdi.

VB sleeper is a much needed upgrade for overnight train travel. Many people will switch to this from early morning or late night fights.

[rrsteer]

Originally Posted by GoBabyGo

I have travelled in Vande Bharat Train and realize that the problem is not our trains, the problem is our railway tracks.

I'd add, the biggest problem is the citizens. I take the Vande Bharat to Delhi from my city each week. The train started operations in January this year. Eight months later, the conditions have deteriorated to an extent, it doesn't feel the train is just 8 month old. I place the blame squarely on the passengers. From dads playing with the automatic doors to humour kids, to people placing heavy bags on food trays, to families treating the train as a picnic vehicle....the list is endless.

I sometimes feel and probably will get some stick here, the statement 'we get what we deserve' is actually not true for us. We have been getting better than what we deserve for sometime now.

[Bhuvan]

Originally Posted by am1m

Even the differences between the LHB coaches and the older coaches is enough to make for a more pleasant journey.

I now prefer train over car for medium duration journeys. LHB coaches (read German tech) are a thing to experience in train travel and can only be appreciated relatively to previous gen coaches. They have two stage suspension that includes an air-suspension. You are actually riding on air.

Originally Posted by BANDHAV

This sounds like a criticism just for the heck of it. This particular design looks far more more modern and upmarket. There could be 100 things in this design which may not be perfect but that is how progress is being made, next iterations would have been better, more rounded, less rough edges and eventually we will have a product which will be truly world class.

Boom barriers are common at train crossings. Not related but a step in right direction.

Originally Posted by V.Narayan

From the 1960s, ever since I can remember my train travels till the last decade the quality of service, cleanliness, coaches of the Indian Railways only deteriorated consistently. Very glad to see these modern trains and interiors. This coach seems to be made of modern light weight materials and certainly has a more contemporary look. kudos to the Indian Railways for turning things around.

I think the progress made within last decade (not going political) is tremendous. Sir, you will enjoy traveling and help shed more light in the technological advancement made.

Originally Posted by MyLife_MyCar

Tracks are capable of handling high speeds, just not entirely across the nation. Just like we have different quality roads capable of different speeds. Railway tracks are the same.

I have a different view. There’s no need to upgrade the existing tracks and disrupt the service. Not every train will and should run at 200kmph.

Remember Garib Rath Train, which democratized the AC travel in train journey, just like what the Ford Fiesta did for diesel engine and Ford Ecosport for C-SUV segment. In 2013-2014, journey from Anand Vihar to Kanpur Central started aprrox. 40-45 mins late and I was surprised or shocked when it reached Kanpur a good 20 mins ahead of arrival time.

What I have noticed is, except technical issue or fog, trains esp. Shatabdi, Rajdhani/Duronto, Tejas, Superfast trains cover the time lost in case of slight delay. The travel time also has reduced for high priority trains in general, along with elevated comfort level resulting in less fatigue and a welcoming aura that newer coaches have.

[gnome]

Main advantage of these trains is they will run on-time and maintained cleaner, because of the limelight. That's the only reason I would pay higher price for this.
The improvements to the coaches themselves are minor and doesn't address the main issues with railways.

[Bhodrolok]

So no opaque barrier between berths but a netted pattern design? Good luck to any females who would try to sleep on the upper berths. You will soon hear of them being harassed by fellow passengers from day 1.

How can they mess up such a basic, straight forward requirement for any sleeper coach?

Of course, with the current situation in India railways the absolute basic of safety itself is a question mark,

[V.Narayan]

Originally Posted by Bhodrolok

So no opaque barrier between berths but a netted pattern design? Good luck to any females who would try to sleep on the upper berths. You will soon hear of them being harassed by fellow passengers from day 1.

How can they mess up such a basic, straight forward requirement for any sleeper coach?

That is an opaque barrier with a pattern on it. It isn't a see through netting.