[vigsom]

Introduction

This is a quick review of India's airconditioned double decker trains with the most polarised user experiences - most of them negative. Although I've criticized this travel option on many occasions, I continue to ride on them. Why? Read on!

History of double decker (DD) trains in India

Like more car per car was the tagline of the Tata Indica, much prior to that, more passengers per railcar must have been the tagline inspiring the Railways to introduce double decker coaches. From whatever information I've gathered, some trains under Central and Western Railways started sporting double decker non-AC coaches as early as the 1980s. The list below isn't exhaustive and am sure these coaches were tried on trains in many zones until they were pulled back

1. Singhad Express between Pune and Mumbai
2. Sahyadri Express between Mumbai and Kolhapur
3. Panchvati Express between Mumbai and Manmad
4. Flying Ranee Express between Mumbai and Surat
5. Valsad Fast Passenger between Mumbai and Valsad

Come 2012 and airconditioned double decker trains were introduced in phases; longest of them in 2016 as the Tirupati - Visakhapatnam DD Exp. which, hold your breath, is an overnight train covering approx. 760km. Others in service are on the following sectors:

1. Mumbai Ahmedabad
2. Chennai - Bengaluru
3. Delhi - Jaipur
4. Anand Vihar - Lucknow
5. Coimbatore - Bengaluru
6. Visakhapatnam - Guntur

From this (04:40 to 05:40 to get an idea of the uncushioned seats). Also note that seats have been created wherever some space was available

https://youtu.be/9YTgaLYTvY0?si=j37p81H4Bby8qjbs

to this (with the coir seats finished in bluish grey vinyl leather); note for safety, the non-grille emergency windows on the lower deck, the half open windows on the upper deck, and the wide doors


to this (airconditioned yet uncomfortable)

[vigsom]

My rides in Double Decker trains

I've done Flying Ranee umpteen times between Surat and Mumbai and back (sometimes Dahanu - Surat) and the typical experience was - get an unreserved ticket, board one of the unreserved coaches, get a seat, only to be forcibly asked to get up by the daily Up-Down travellers, who have their "fixed" seats everyday. Arguments wouldn't work as it was one passenger vs a gang. Reserved coaches - the only solace is one'd get to sit in one's allocated seat, but be requested by other standing passengers to "cut marke baitho" (split and help two sit one behind the other like on a scooter). Two ways of looking at it - grumble OR enjoy the ride! Have also travelled in a double decker unreserved coach by Gujarat Express to Mumbai once. This was in an emergency.

Other than those rides, I've done Chennai - Bengaluru several times until 2016 and I ride the Mumbai - Ahmedabad Double Decker Exp. even now when I visit Gujarat.

Double Decker AC Expresses - Good vs Bad

Likes

1. Reasonably fast way to get from Point A to Point B
2. More seats per train - 120 seats per coach against the 78 in a conventional LHB AC Chair car
3. Highest probability of getting confirmed reservation even with a General Waitlist of approx. 100 two days before the journey date - again, this isn't a thumb rule but a good gamble to take
4. Interiors pleasing to the eye
5. Upper deck feels like business class in a 747, until one gets into the seat
6. Convenient travel option to mid and large stations on the route - stops at 1-2 more places than a regular superfast train but takes the same time

Dislikes

1. Extremely uncomfortable seats - as pointed out here; seats seem to have gotten better but not by a mile
2. Subset of point#1 - the under thigh support is pathetic - the seat bottom cushion slopes downward as the seats age
3. With all the shortcomings viz. smaller less comfortable seats, lower recline, compromised luggage holding capacity, the fare is the same as the regular AC Chair car fare
4. Mad scramble to exit the train at major stations thus making it quite a concerning experience

[vigsom]

My experience in AC Double Decker trains

Exterior - looks quite nice, but the shade could have been different




Elevation of the lower deck - note that the bottom of the window is almost at the level of the platform


Elevation of the upper deck - the better of the two


Interior - lower deck; luggage racks are not tall enough thus limiting the size of bags that can go in


View of the outside from the lower deck




View of the lower deck cabin


Seat upright


with just an approx. 15 degree recline

[vigsom]

My experience in AC Double Decker trains (Contd.)

Stairs to the lower deck - with the seat number mentioned


Stairs leading to the upper and deck


View of the upper deck - at least the luggage rack is a tad taller here


View of the outside from the upper deck


Some storage space for the big bags at the ends of the upper deck




Small lobby unlike the wide one on the Vande Bharat/ regular chair cars


The lobby gets crowded as the train nears a major station; and that is when some passengers would want to go to the loo

[vigsom]

Ride summarised in videos

Pulling out of Mumbai Central - view from the upper deck

https://youtube.com/watch?v=0uQ7Q4Z6fUM

Coasting towards Borivli - view from the lower deck

https://youtube.com/watch?v=hbMvcthY660

Racing towards Vapi - view from the lower deck

https://youtube.com/watch?v=B-72pfdPvDw

Summing it up

Everytime I've decided not to ride double deckers again for discomfort I've faced, I've ended up riding them again and again. Maybe I've accepted the train's shortcomings and looked more at what it does best - transporting one from point A to Point B in very quick time. Just sample this - Mumbai to Vadodara, a 393 km distance is covered in a mere 5hrs 10mins; one can definitely endure a bit of discomfort for a quick ride!

[Rudra Sen]

Mod note: Thread moved to Commercial Vehicles.

[rajeevsulu]

I have done the Erode -Bengaluru and the Bengaluru -Erode trips on the Uday express a few times. The trains are convenient with minimal stops, less travel times, almost guaranteed tickets and very little crowds.

The flip side would be the genuine lack of comfort. The seats have no thigh support and are very cramped with even legroom at a premium.

I could manage because the travel time was about 4 hours. There is a lot of scope for improvement.

Cheers

[sagarpadaki]

I hate the double decker express. Had the misfortune of taking one to Chennai. I had got a 2-seater at the end. It was horrendous. If one is well built, the person next to them is going to be miserable as well. The shoulder space is worse than that of low-cost airline. These seats are suitable only for the skinny built people

[Gansan]

I have seen double decker coaches operating in the Chennai-Bangalore-Chennai Brindavan Express way back in the 80's but they were withdrawn.

I am Ok with double decker trains. I have travelled many times between Chennai and Bangalore and find them convenient despite some discomfort. That distance is about the maximum acceptable in these trains.

[SubhoMoto]

I have done the Mumbai-Bharuch route couple of times, and I totally agree, the seats lack comfort & is a big compromise. This is the only train in this route where tickets are easily available even 2-3 days before the travel date hence had to opt for it both the times. The seat design and the placement of bottle holders ensures that you cannot sit comfortably if you are above 5.5ft. Doesn't matter whether you get seats on the upper or lower deck, its cramped and neither can one sit properly or stand straight. One can somehow manage to travel on Double decker only if the journey time is less than 6 hours.

[Gautham_v6]

I have travelled from Chennai to Mysuru on a Duronto double decker about 8-9.years back and while the seating was decent for an 8 hour journey, the dustbins and restrooms were pathetic and the bay had a horrible stench.

[dass]

I have seen these trains numerous times, however have never travelled in one mostly due to the negative reviews I have heard of them. The other reason I would not want to travel in these is that I believe one does not get a preference for upper or lower deck while booking and as with all railway bookings, it is to pay up and hope for the best seat. Assuming this to be true, not worth the trouble in my opinion.

For such trains, railways should allow passengers to choose the seat. If the cost is the same, the seats on the lower deck of the train seem like a compromise.

[Vipin Kumar]

I have taken the Anand Vihar - Lucknow DD Express once. Convenient timings but very uncomfortable seats. No under-thigh support and hardly any recline for the backrest. After one journey, I have sought to avoid it whenever I travel.

Vande Bharat also, I personally did not find as comfortable as the normal Shatabdis. But, of course, far better seats than those of double deckers.

I have never travelled in the non AC double decker coach. Are they still operational on Flying Ranee Express?

[Nalin Kumar]

It's only yesterday I traveled in Bengaluru Coimbatore Uday Express. Best avoided for anything beyond 3-4 hours. Seat is the issue, the worst designer award should go to them. Apart from lack of underthigh support and upright angle,there are no footrests, prompting one to make constant efforts to be seated in the seat. Ironically there is a bar fitted at the front of the seat. In my journey I shifted from the fully occupied upper deck to the empty lower deck after one hour. One can sleep if seats are empty 😴

[tharian]

Originally Posted by Gautham_v6

I have travelled from Chennai to Mysuru on a Duronto double decker about 8-9.years back and while the seating was decent for an 8 hour journey, the dustbins and restrooms were pathetic and the bay had a horrible stench.

Curious to know which train exactly this was. As far as I know, there was no DD trains between Bangalore and Mysore. It was only between Chennai and Bangalore and return.