Indian Railways Thread

rahulm · Post by **rahulm** » 29 Jun 2012 21:43

The change in timing to 10:00 pm will help de-congest the IRCTC website. (Now I can sleep in & book after having breakfast)

What about reports of illegal software being plugged into the IRCTC booking network? Won't the touts simply plug in the software at 10 AM now?

Change in tatkal booking times is not going to stop agents. Agents were not allowed to book tickets from 8:00 to 9:00 AM. They still did it.

How does IR plan to stop back door bookings?

IR cannot check ticket's being booked at remote/small station PRS counters and then being couriered to other cities. Will they install CCTV's at all stations? Who will monitor the CCTV? Who will monitor the monitor?

How will IR prevent booking clerks from carrying mobiles to their desk? Jam signals electronically? Frisk booking clerks?Who will frisk booking clerks?

This needs a system wide solution while IR is not applying even band-aid properly.

The latest time table with effect from 1st July out for NR appears to have removed the facility of foreigners booking tickets against ATM withdrawal slips http://indianrailways.gov.in/railwayboa ... lities.pdf. Will accept credit cards, US and UK currency and encashment certificates from a nationalised bank. Surprising that IR will accept foreign currency unconditionally but requires proof of encashment for Indian currency?

RBI has authorised private banks to deal in forex but only government banks are good enough for IR?

In this age of Cirrus and Maestro this is an unnecessary move that will inconvenience and harass (ever tried to encash money at a government bank - come tomorrow or 2 hours later is not an uncommon response)

A report mentions that among others yatra and makemytrip will be issued cease and desist type notices by IR because these sites are unauthorised.

There are reports of identity theft of PAN card numbers from IR reservation charts. Persona; details like age and address are also clearly printed. What is IR's response?

In the days before the PAN and election card became wide spread IR wanted the passengers age so TTE's could do an approximate manual verification of the passengers age. In the present day and age the ID proof with photo is good enough.

Too much personal information is being printed and a real and likely possibility exists that identity theft occurs for terrorism purposes in addition to the theft already happening for jewellery purchase tax avoidance purposes.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 30 Jun 2012 02:26

Rahulm,

Employees have pre-booked quota that then gets released to Tatkal I believe. They always get first shot. Local GM is like god and gets to decide. Even within there is quota within quota within quota. This is why the RAC line NEVER moves for instance despite the fact that 10%-15% of tickets even during festival season are always cancelled.

As long as supply can not keep up with demand such shenanigans will happen. No rule can stop it. You might as well pi$$ against the wind.

I would suggest Railways use this as market signal and focus on improving supply. This is what real world companies do.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 30 Jun 2012 08:00

http://www.thehindu.com/news/states/tam ... 585743.ece

southern railway makes some changes, incl a new 13-coach double decker AC chair car train between Blr and Chennai to supplement the two shatabdi trains, the brindavan express and the couple of night trains like chennai mail and chennai exp.

--
Train No.22625 Chennai Central- Bangalore AC Double Decker Exp will leave here 7.25 a.m. and reach Bangalore at 1.30 p.m. while Train No.22626 will leave Bangalore at 2.40 p.m. and arrive at 8.45 p.m. The stoppages are Perambur (up direction only), Arakkonam, Katpadi, Ambur, Jolarpettai, Bangarapet, Krishnarajapuram and Bangalore Cantonment.

Consequent on the introduction of the double decker, Train No.12639 Chennai Central –Bangalore Brindavan Express will leave 45 minutes later (7.50 a.m. instead of 7.15 a.m.), while the return train to Chennai, Train No.12640, will leave Bangalore 40 minutes later (3.10 p.m. instead of 2.30 p.m.)

Virupaksha · Post by **Virupaksha** » 30 Jun 2012 10:21

There is something called HQ quota (around 1-2 out of 100). It is from these that employees get tickets.

vasu raya · Post by **vasu raya** » 30 Jun 2012 10:45

Theo_Fidel wrote:I would suggest Railways use this as market signal and focus on improving supply. This is what real world companies do.

A simple solution will be to allow private sector manufacturing of double decker coaches, they should be told that airlines do not build their planes

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 30 Jun 2012 11:07

Simple solution to Tatkal problem is to approach EBay to set up an auction system. I am surprised the Anna team is not complaining about corruption in Railways that is leaving money on the table, when there is high demand for tickets

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 30 Jun 2012 12:48

One of the agents had some tips

1. Ask someone from foreign country to book tickets for you as they are faster ( dunno how )
2. Dont use BSNL/MTNL connection

prahaar · Post by **prahaar** » 30 Jun 2012 13:19

@Krishnanji, does not help at all. I have tried many consecutive early morning bookings without any success. I should admit, things have become much worse in last few months compared to even 6 months back. I do not whether it was the summer season rush or some increase in illegal booking cartels.

nelson · Post by **nelson** » 30 Jun 2012 13:42

Things began to get worse with IRCTC website after they entered into collaboration with pvt players like yatradotcom. Same transaction that would be impossible in irctcdotcodotin would be done in a jiffy in yatradotcom, at a premium of rs 20/- or so per ticket only.

Yogi_G · Post by **Yogi_G** » 30 Jun 2012 23:42

My chaiwallah also happens to be a electrical technician in SR and he was telling me about the corruption EVEN in the railways. TTs can make upto 10,000 rupees on high volume routes and everyone knows about it and the money reaches the highest levels it seems. The technicians are the most frustrated lot as any engine breakdown etc can immediately result in suspension and enquiry based on seriousness and no means to make any money at all. One TT who joined same batch as my chaiwallah has 4 homes in Vizag now and has raked in a lot of moolah while the chaiwallah has to make do with a 100 square yard small house.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 02 Jul 2012 08:03

A verification call may be made for the bookings done between 8:00 am to 8:15 am to verify userid, pnr, passenger mobile number and passenger details.
Any misleading information may lead to cancellation of e-ticket and an appropriate legal action.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 02 Jul 2012 21:25

. I am getting a feeling that IR is now slowly going out of control. Coaches look old. Complaints of bad service and maintenance is heard every now and then. People have very many complaints against food served in even prestigious trains. Internet ticket booking is now become a kind of joke of the day. I think if this continues after 15-20 years the nation would really have a dinosaur to handle.

PS: It could be that because of more media activism, social networking, internet etc. complaints (and frustrations) are getting shared in more numbers.

nakul · Post by **nakul** » 02 Jul 2012 21:51

A question to learned maulanas:

Is it true that air fares are inflated so as to keep the masses away from them and pushed towards IR since people would otherwise not travel by trains?

It makes no sense to me but it is a line repeated often.

krishnan · Post by **krishnan** » 05 Jul 2012 14:59

The cabinet on July 4 cleared a Rs.5,181.79 crore, 25.612 km Metro rail project to improve the public transport system in Kochi in Kerala, according to an IANS report.The network will comprise 23 stations.The project is scheduled to be completed in four years from the date work starts. That's exactly the time Dubai took to construct its Metro. Click below to see some of the finest Metro networks in the world.

http://in.finance.yahoo.com/photos/metr ... slideshow/

SBajwa · Post by **SBajwa** » 06 Jul 2012 00:01

http://www.tribuneindia.com/2012/20120705/cth1.htm#8

Metro to run in tricity at frequency of 10 minutes at peak hours
Rajinder Nagarkoti
Tribune News Service

Chandigarh, July 4
To facilitate commuters, the Metro will be available for the tricity residents at a frequency of every 10 minutes during the peak hours. In the detailed project report (DPR) submitted by the Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) to the UT Administration, it has been stated that the Tricity Metro rail would run at a frequency of around 10 minutes during peak hours on the two proposed Metro corridors in the first phase.

A senior official of the UT Administration said that DMRC had proposed that the Metro should run at a frequency of every 10 minutes during the peak hours (7 am to 10 am, 5 pm to 7 pm) on both the corridors named the North-South Corridor and East-West Corridor in 2018. During the lean hours (10 am to 5 pm), the frequency of Metro will be between 15 and 25 minutes.

As proposed by the DMRC, work on the 37.573 km-long Metro rail project will begin in 2013 and is expected to be completed by 2018. The DMRC has also proposed a total of 30 Metro stations in the two corridors in the phase I of the Metro project. The Metro will be underground within the sectoral grid of Chandigarh. Outside the grid, it will be elevated. A 37.69-km Metro project has been proposed and there will 12 underground and 18 elevated stations.

The DMRC has also proposed to construct parking facility at Metro stations in the suburbs. The facility will be provided at the first Metro station and the last Metro stop in the periphery.

The proposed North-South corridor will commence from the Capitol Complex to culminate at Gurudwara Singh Shaheeda via Sector 9, ISBT-17, Aroma Chowk, Sector 34, Sector-43 ISBT, Sector 52, Sector 62 and Sector 70. The Metro corridor will have four elevated and six underground Metro stations.

The proposed East-West Corridor will initiate from Grain Market near Sector 21, Panchkula, and will reach up to the Transport Terminal via Raili village, bus stand, City Centre, HUDA office Complex, MDC, Panchkula, Housing Board Chowk, Railway Station, Timber Market, Sector 26, Sector 7, Sector 9, GMSH-16, PGIMER, Khuda Lahora, Sarangpur, Mullanpur and the Air Force Station. The East-West Corridor will have 15 elevated and five underground Metro stations.

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 06 Jul 2012 01:11

nakul wrote:A question to learned maulanas:

Is it true that air fares are inflated so as to keep the masses away from them and pushed towards IR since people would otherwise not travel by trains?

It makes no sense to me but it is a line repeated often.

Aviation Turbine Fuel has very heavy central and state taxes levied on it in India. The ATF price does a good job of making air travel unaffordable. Fares do not need to be artificially inflated.

nelson · Post by **nelson** » 07 Jul 2012 12:36

Airport Metro to be suspended from Sunday

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 12 Jul 2012 00:10

Ready to offer concessional rate for Kochi Metro: Sreedharan

On the recent controversy regarding the shutdown of Delhi Metro's airport express line, Sreedharan said that happened only because Reliance Infrastructure, that operates the Metro line, was making an operational loss. "Reliance was making a big loss, probably more than Rs 1 crore per day. They wanted to close down the line somehow. The glitches were minor ones, like replacement of bearings and all which can happen to any line," he said.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 12 Jul 2012 13:16

Bade wrote:because Reliance Infrastructure, that operates the Metro line, was making an operational loss. "Reliance was making a big loss, probably more than Rs 1 crore per day. They wanted to close down the line somehow. The glitches were minor ones, like replacement of bearings and all which can happen to any line," he said.

[/quote]
Does DMRC out-source the actual operation of the lines to private parties? Or the private parties are only involved in construction activities? This "want" for closing down the line, I guess that is the problem. If Reliance does not want to operate the line, they should sell it off. If get this right, looks like Reliance does not know how to maintain a railway line

.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 12 Jul 2012 14:50

Bade wrote:Ready to offer concessional rate for Kochi Metro: Sreedharan
On the recent controversy regarding the shutdown of Delhi Metro's airport express line, Sreedharan said that happened only because Reliance Infrastructure, that operates the Metro line, was making an operational loss. "Reliance was making a big loss, probably more than Rs 1 crore per day. They wanted to close down the line somehow. The glitches were minor ones, like replacement of bearings and all which can happen to any line," he said.

Are Mr Anil Ambani Chinese chickens aka Hardware coming to Roost?

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 12 Jul 2012 15:03

that line has some problems at present.

it bypasses the LCC terminals and hence people need to wait upto 20 mins and then 20 min bus ride to reach the stn near BSF camp to board.
it only goes to shivaji stdm near CP and then NDLS , only from there u can change lines. no ring railway yet to decamp for south or north delhi at intermediate point
i guess most people prefer taxis and buses to reach where they want directly.
regular DTC buses cover the LCC also.

so mostly you will see airport employees on it, and only those coming with light luggage and proceeding towards east delhi for them it makes sense to come to NDLS and change over to anand vihar or noida or kashmere gate lines for onward journey. or people dropping off in taxi and wanting a cheap and new route back (like me!

) or folks who want to catch long distance trains or state transport buses from NDLS / ISBTs to nearby states ....

I guess world over, the airport metros dont make money, but govt subsidies and H&D like shanhai maglev keep it running....here I dunno why chota bhai jumped in and bought this unviable line !

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 12 Jul 2012 19:41

What does this mean for B'lur HSR to airport ? I always thought it was a bad idea. They should just extend the Phase-II metro line from Nagwara to BIAL or have another independent line along NH7 to cater to all the developments happening there. Purva has some new apt complexes and several other older colonies exist along that alignment already. That area looked choked up last time I was there compared to a decade ago.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 12 Jul 2012 19:51

nelson wrote:Airport Metro to be suspended from Sunday

WTF!! as usual, these are things makes many aamish mards to beat upon us as inferior in every walks of life.

SaiK · Post by **SaiK** » 18 Jul 2012 23:29

I was hearing a public talk radio saying chippanda is way spearing ahead into the top country with 25000 miles of super duper high speed railway network as vision 2050.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 19 Jul 2012 12:16

they should just extend the BLR metro to the airport but use special coaches with different type of seating & luggage racks as in the delhi airport express. for a journey of barely 50km, even a routine 80kmph metro will be ok and one need not go HSR because there will be stops to cater to people getting on/off at various points. a point to point MG road - nonstop to BIAL is a hopeless H&D concept. who on earth will want to go to mg road with heavy luggage to catch this train. they would much rather take a bus or taxi directly.

the regular metro would in due course ensure connectivity to diff parts of blr once the buildout is complete....a lot faster than vayu vajras for sure...

Vasu · Post by **Vasu** » 19 Jul 2012 16:47

that line has some problems at present.

it bypasses the LCC terminals and hence people need to wait upto 20 mins and then 20 min bus ride to reach the stn near BSF camp to board.
it only goes to shivaji stdm near CP and then NDLS , only from there u can change lines. no ring railway yet to decamp for south or north delhi at intermediate point
i guess most people prefer taxis and buses to reach where they want directly.
regular DTC buses cover the LCC also.

so mostly you will see airport employees on it, and only those coming with light luggage and proceeding towards east delhi for them it makes sense to come to NDLS and change over to anand vihar or noida or kashmere gate lines for onward journey. or people dropping off in taxi and wanting a cheap and new route back (like me! ) or folks who want to catch long distance trains or state transport buses from NDLS / ISBTs to nearby states .

Thats very true. I have wanted to take the airport metro so many times, but I am only a poor LCC traveler (or rather, was. Air fares are ridiculous now). If only they had thunk of having a station at the LCC terminals. Is it too late to do it now?

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 20 Jul 2012 02:50

This is not good for a fledgling (in India) tech: Segment of Mumbai Monorail Collapse

hnair · Post by **hnair** » 20 Jul 2012 02:59

Sachin wrote: If Reliance does not want to operate the line, they should sell it off. If get this right, looks like Reliance does not know how to maintain a railway line .

Goes deeper than that: Rel-bhai does not like state-central control in projects (just funds, thank you!) and Sreedharan hates PPP

I believe there was some very public friction since Mumbai Metro times between the two. As operators, Rel-bhai is alleging QC issues, which is like a red-rag to DMRC, as it sort of aims a low-blow at their crownies

So it needs to be taken a bit more seriously by DMRC and dealt with, as the creditors too are watching these games.

Currently both sides are indulging in political language, that is counterproductive for future project credits from external sources.

nachiket · Post by **nachiket** » 20 Jul 2012 04:19

hnair wrote:This is not good for a fledgling (in India) tech: Segment of Mumbai Monorail Collapse

It wasn't a monorail section. Mistaken identity.

Initially, fire brigade officers had said that it was "a part of a monorail bridge" that had collapsed, but later officials of MMRDA, the city's planning body, clarified that it was actually a part of Eastern Freeway, connecting south Mumbai and Navi Mumbai.

It's from the same article.

Bade · Post by **Bade** » 25 Jul 2012 02:51

What Went Wrong With the Delhi Airport Express

The problems started as early as February, according to officials and others involved in the project. At the time, Reliance Infrastructure, which runs the line, and Delhi Metro Rail Corporation, which built it, noticed that the clips keeping the track in place were snapping at high speeds. Reliance says the fault was found during a routine check.

The two companies decided to slow the speed of the trains to just 80 kilometers an hour, from a planned 120 kilometers an hour.

A spokeswoman from the Delhi Airport Metro Express Line (DAMEL) which is owned by Reliance Infrastructure, told India Real Time last week: “Since it was not possible to continuously inspect and replace broken clips everyday, it was considered fit to reduce the speed to 80 kilometers to contain the problem pending further investigations.”

DMRC worked “side by side” with Reliance to try to resolve the clips problem while allowing trains to continue running — albeit at reduced speeds, Mr. Krishna added.

But in May, a new problem was detected, this time in the bearings that support the line. The flaws have been present since construction, according to an investigation by representatives from DMRC, Reliance, Indian Railways and the Delhi Ministry for Urban Development released Monday.

“The design had not been followed properly during construction,” according to Sumit Banerjee, chief executive of Infrastructure for Reliance who was speaking at a press conference in Delhi.So who did the construction ?[/i]

Even after the cracks in the bearings were found, the trains kept running.

Responsibility for deciding when the line should be open or closed rests with Reliance, Reliance and the DMRC agree. Reliance claims it took advice from DMRC, which operates the much-lauded Delhi Metro, on whether to close the line and then decided against it.

The closure of the line — expected to last for at least two months — comes as a blow to the reputation of DMRC which is acting as a consultant to numerous fledgling metro programs across India. The shutdown is also embarrassing for Reliance Infrastructure, which is in the process of completing Mumbai One, a metro line connecting parts of the city not on the suburban rail network.

At Monday’s press conference, Mr. Krishna said that when the line reopens it will continue to run at reduced speeds of 80 kilometers an hour until a solution to the breaking clips has been found.

Jitendra Tyagi, director of works at DMRC, told India Real Time that the clips could not be replaced with a different model because they are the only ones which fit onto the track.

“Clips aren’t breaking when the speeds are lowered,” Mr. Tyagi said.

The bearings will be inspected individually by the designers and a “detailed study” will determine the “specific rehabilitation measures” needed for each bearing, Mr. Krishna said.

Even if both the breaking clips and cracking bearings are fixed, the line’s problems may not yet be over: The investigation is also examining issues with vibrations experienced by the train at high speeds, according to Mr. Krishna.

kmkraoind · Post by **kmkraoind** » 25 Jul 2012 11:34

Mangalore: Konkan Railway's Ro-ro Service Enables Easy, Fuel-efficient Transport

The ro-ro service is currently functioning between Kolad and Verna in Maharashtra (417 km, 8-10 hours journey), Kolad and Suratkal (721 km, 24 hours journey), and Ankola and Suratkal (205 km, 3-5 hours journey).

On the Kolad-Verna route, 15 metric tonnes of load costs Rs 4,500, with every additional tonne costing Rs 300; on Kolad-Suratkal route, 15 metric tonnes costs Rs 6,900, with Rs 400 for every additional tonne.

For a distance of 700 km, 15 tonne hauling for 7K. It seems it needs to be introduced on a pan-India basis.

prahaar · Post by **prahaar** » 25 Jul 2012 15:00

As a topic related to RoRo service in railways, I wanted to bring up the topic of rail based subsidies to integrate far-off regions of the country. Of course this assumes that in first place, rail/road network spreads to far off places. In Finland for example, there is an outright incentive for common people to travel the sparsely populated Northern part of the country (with their personal vehicles) and going around the place (thus stimulating the local economy). For 1200KM journey there is a discount of 125 euros (against a normal coupe charge of 600 euros for a family) if we have our own car with us during the travel. One has to see it is real life to believe the positive effect, there are summer cottages and hotels springing up in the most desolate places, since people living in the the relatively dense Southern Finland find it a good/cheap option to visit North at better prices. I am quite sure, people would love to explore the relatively untouched interiors in JK/NE/Dandak-van/etc, it would be a great anti-dote for centrifugal forces and bind.

I understand that currently it is not feasible to implement the Finnish policy in India, the point I want to make is that the world over railways is used by governments (even with subsidies if needed) to further the social and national integration agenda. India should not be shy in doing this for specific targeted purposes.

Theo_Fidel · Post by **Theo_Fidel** » 30 Jul 2012 19:57

TN express! I have taken that trip dozens of times. Sigh!

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/indi ... 270228.cms?

Chennai-bound Tamil Nadu Express catches fire: 32 passengers charred to death

chaanakya · Post by **chaanakya** » 30 Jul 2012 21:37

Seems terror attack? Spculation of blast heard before fire.
Tragic loss of life. RIP .

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 31 Jul 2012 10:36

Fire Safety in Trains a Long Way Off

SSridhar · Post by **SSridhar** » 02 Aug 2012 11:40

IR would do well to jettison the sabotage theory for the fire in TN Express

The Indian Railways will do well to jettison the sabotage theory in the investigations into the ‘Tamil Nadu Express’ fire at Nellore earlier this week. Quoting some passengers on the train who said they had heard an explosion, some Railway officials and politicians seem to be pushing the sabotage theory as a possible cause. But it seems unlikely going by the evidence as it appears, and the preliminary investigations both at Nellore and in Hyderabad.

According to preliminary indications from the investigating teams — including forensics officials — there appears to be no evidence or trace of any explosive in S-11, the coach that was gutted. The sources say that there is nothing in the remains of the charred coach that point to an explosion or detonation. As on date, it seems to be a case of a pure and simple fire, which could have emanated from or near the toilets of the coach. The shell of the coach seems intact — which would not have been the case had there been an explosion — but for the completely burnt out interior. Officials think that it could be a case of a short circuit in or near the toilet, which could have also led to the jamming of the doors.

The problem with the Railways seems to be the absence of corrective measures even after the cause of an accident has been established. There have been innumerable safety reports, commissions, and voluminous reports recommending a series of steps to improve railway safety. Despite earlier governments at the Centre recognising the urgent need to shore up safety and security, and releasing substantial funds for a concerted drive, not much has been achieved by the Railways. This begs the question: is the Railway Minister and his Railway Board taking safety seriously?

When it comes to fighting fires, the Railways record proves dismal. Most trains do not have fire fighting equipment, even extinguishers. {Even major rai;way stations do not have fire fighting equipment, as I found to my horror at the Hyderabad Jn last year when a coach caught fire at the platform in front of my eyes.} Even after a fire is spotted, it takes time to find a water source. There are manual checks in some stations to find out about overheating of axles or wheels, but it not enough and it is not done everywhere.

Perhaps the most significant recommendation till date was for the use of fire retardant material in coaches. Now that the Railways have many coach factories and are even importing special rakes for Metros or special trains, it should be possible to redesign the coaches so that they will be fireproofed.

Singha · Post by **Singha** » 02 Aug 2012 11:59

there is no money for proper opex, let alone capex. only introducing new trains has strong ministerial support.

if we had to run a proper clean and safe railway systems the fares would quadruple and number of trains come down to 25% to generate the reqd money/seat or money/station needed to do it.

until then its a "best effort" basis.

Aditya_V · Post by **Aditya_V** » 02 Aug 2012 12:20

Singha a 3% rise in rail wares since 2004 would have helped a lot.

But with Lalu and reported Magic along with Media Support and IIM-B, Harvard everybody lending to the Lalu miracle we were made to belive thanks to some magic railways can do very well without ever having to increase fares.

Even the so called educated fell for the cheap tricks and outright lies by media, now we will all have to pay for it.

We cannot move forward without introspection

vera_k · Post by **vera_k** » 03 Aug 2012 10:12

Despite earlier governments at the Centre recognising the urgent need to shore up safety and security, and releasing substantial funds for a concerted drive, not much has been achieved by the Railways. This begs the question: is the Railway Minister and his Railway Board taking safety seriously?

What is the legal position here? Shouldn't the various railway ministers (Lalu, Mamta et. al.) be investigated and booked for negligience, if not murder based on this finding?

In a democracy, the Opposition should be filing and prosecuting these cases.

Sachin · Post by **Sachin** » 03 Aug 2012 11:02

Aditya_V wrote:But with Lalu and reported Magic along with Media Support and IIM-B, Harvard everybody lending to the Lalu miracle we were made to belive thanks to some magic railways can do very well without ever having to increase fares.

Don't want sound like a defeatist. But if this goes on IR would become a while elephant, with every one wanting to avoid this. Today people are preferring trains only because of the cheap fares (which again is because of cross-subsidies etc.).
* Complaints about low quality food, and totally unclean coaches are getting raised by more and more people.
* Train accidents are also on the rise. The stories of how this whole system is an antique peace is becoming more.
* Passengers who wish to get reservation have their own sob stories to tell. About irregularities of Tatkal booking, nefarious practices by touts, and all and sundry still getting inside reserved compartments. Season ticket holders are the biggest rowdies in this category.

So Railways would soon start getting patronised by folks who pays cheap, and can only think cheap. Any body who expects a better treatment, and is willing to pay for it would start looking for other means. In the less than 500km sector, I guess good buses are going to now take over. Karnataka SRTC has already introduced buses with bio-toilets etc. Guess too much "socialism" and "popular schemes" (of the politicians) would soon run down IR.