A Ride on the Vande Bharat and an Unreserved Express Train

 

Well, finally we had an opportunity to travel by the recently introduced Vande Bharat. This express train runs from Kasargod in the northern end of Kerala to the State Capital Thiruvananthapuram in the south. However, ours was a  a short ride from Kozhikode to Thrissur completed in about an hour and 45 minutes. 

Waiting for the Train

On arrival at the station, we were told that the Vande Bharat would arrive on platform number 3. With the evening Sun blazing from the west, there was hardly any cover on this platform. The number of seats was also limited. Fortunately, the electronic information display provided the coach position.

Once the train arrived, people queued up before the doors. Usually, in most trains, the seat numbers are displayed outside on top of the windows to help passengers board from the door closest to the location of the seat. However, this was missing in the Vande Bharat and we entered through the door at the other end of the coach and had to wade through passengers and luggage to reach our seats.

First Impression is the Best Impression 

The first thing that strikes you on entering the coach is the amount of space in the corridor achieved through the relocation of the toilets. 

Now the washrooms are adjacent to the sliding door to the seating area. The main door is also the sliding type that closes automatically as in the metro trains. The vestibule is also much wider and fully enclosed. You don't have to walk over the iron plates separating the two coaches.

During the journey, it took me a while to locate the toilet as it was covered with blue wallpaper-like stuff with designs. The toilet itself was clean with aircraft-like vacuum cleaning.

The passenger cabin is spacious. The seats are covered with fabric. Apart from good leg space, the metal footrests are well-designed. The windows are large and wide. The coach has TV monitors, two in front and two at the back that provide information about the next stop and the speed of the train. There is also an additional LED information scrolling panel above the door.  It would be good if this facility of LED scroll on the next stop and the time of arrival is installed in all the trains. It would help the passengers, especially during the night when no landmarks are visible in the darkness.

A Smooth Ride 

The train offers a smooth ride. The acceleration is linear without the jerking experienced in LHB coaches pulled by locomotives. The cabin is quiet and the coach does not swing from side to side. Due to track and traffic constraints, the train speed is below 110 KMPH. It barely touched 107 KMPH during the journey. 

This was in sharp contrast to the Thrissur-Kozhikode Express that we took in the morning. This train graduated from being a passenger post-COVID days to an express, managed to clock 110 KMPH on several stretches, swinging from side to side while jumping over signalling points with abandon.           

Food for Thought

At the time of booking the ticket, you get the option for food which in our case was evening tea. Well, we could have done without it as the single-piece vada was strangely tasteless. Two small packets of Chiwda were also on the tray. Coffee/Tea you have to make yourself with only hot water provided along with coffee/tea sachets. The result was rather insipid. A better option would be to carry your own sandwich and a bottle of juice. Each passenger gets a one-litre water bottle on this train.

The Passenger turned Express runs to grief 

Since we had planned only a day's trip to Kozhikode, the Thrissur-Kannur Express that starts at 6:45 AM and scheduled to reach Kozhikode at 9: 30 AM was found convenient. Since it was an unreserved train, I got an electronic ticket through the UTS app (very convenient for booking just an hour before the journey. Can be used for getting platform tickets too).

The train started on the dot and we made good time till Shoranur. There was a 25-minute halt at this station. We had breakfast of tasteless Iddli and Sambar (they should find a way to avoid liquid curries, hard to manage in the absence of a table).

The train, comprising old ICF coaches, managed to keep time till Tanur. For reasons only known to the train controller, it was held up here for 45 minutes to allow a train to overtake it. By this time, it was full of commuters, including students. Why should a commuter train that is running on time be held up for some other train that is running late?  We were again held up at two other stations, including Feroke, on the doorstep of Kozhikode finally reaching at 10:45 AM.

What Kerala needs are more commuter trains that could be run by putting additional lines along the existing tracks. It will ease considerable pressure on the existing road network and save time and energy.