Tamil Nadu - Madurai   

Passenger comfort goes for a toss in three-tier coaches

— Photo: G. Moorthy

Inconvenient side: Passengers finding it difficult to sit and sleep on the side lower and middle berths of a coach in Pandiyan Express.

MADURAI: The introduction of side middle berths in three-tier coaches in trains has drawn flak from the travelling public. Besides cramped space, they complain of inadequate ventilation.

The railway authorities’ attempt to generate additional revenue through increasing nine additional berths in three-tier coaches has made the passengers crave for comfort. “Every passenger (in the coach) pays the same fare. But the comfort is not the same for all,” said the Madurai MP, P. Mohan. Lighting and air circulation have taken a beating since there is little space between the (side) middle and upper berths.

After receiving complaints on the issue from several quarters, Mr. Mohan inspected the augmented coaches of Pandiyan Express here on Monday.

Reasoning that traditionally there were only two side berths due to space constraint, he said “inserting” the middle berth without restructuring the upper and lower berths created a lot of difficulties. “The passenger has to literally squeeze himself/herself into the little space between the middle and upper berths,” he said.

K. Muthiah, executive trustee of Consortium for Consumer Justice, said that three passengers sharing the seat while sitting caused inconvenience. “If a passenger does not fit into either lower or middle berth, neither can he/she sleep nor sit,” he said. Besides, he pointed out that the space for easier movement and water and toilet facility had not increased with the number of additional passengers.

Women, aged and sick passengers found it more difficult to use all the three side berths, a railway official said. The worst affected were feeding mothers, who preferred the side lower (in two-berth structure) as it gave them enough space both for sleeping and to take care of the infants. “Sometime back, we had cradle for babies on these berths. Now there is not enough space even for mothers,” he added.

Space between lower berth and upper berth that used to be around 125 cm has been split so that the passengers of lower and middle berths have a mere 59 cm of space each. The maximum height between the upper berth and ceiling remains at 71 cm, according to railway officials.

The Southern Railway Mazdoor Union has urged the Railway Board to remove the middle berth above the Travelling Ticket Examiners’ berth to enable the TTEs sit comfortably and do their writing work, its divisional secretary, J.M. Rafi, said.

Stating that introduction of the middle berth to meet the growing demand was not the right solution, Mr. Mohan said the railway authorities should try and add maximum number of coaches or additional trains without compromising on passenger comfort. “Otherwise, they should incorporate it in coaches that are fully re-designed to accommodate more berths.”

Alleging that there was confusion among passengers in identifying berths after the introduction of an additional side berth, he said on many occasions passengers quarrelled. They could retire on their respective berths only late in the night that too after the intervention of TTEs, Mr. Mohan said.

The MP said that he would take up the issue with the Southern Railway General Manager.

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