Mumbai first-class commuters demand better coaches

As the railways in Mumbai opened bids from international companies to manufacture and buy new trains under the second phase of the city’s railway upgrade project, first-class commuters in the city have written to the railway planning body demanding more comfortable coaches and aesthetic coach interiors.

 Many people complain about the plain looks of the first class and believe that the commuters who pay more deserve better service. “First-class passengers pay nearly 100% more money, but do not get enough in return. Agreed that crowding is an issue, but the least railways can do is to improve the aesthetics of the interiors. They can think of various measures that can distinctly differentiate the first and second class,” says Nilesh Gupta, who has been travelling in the first class for over three years.

Others have problems with second-class commuters unknowingly jumping on to the premier class, adding to crowding in the compartment.

“In the new trains, there is no difference in the interior of first class and second class compartment, except the seats. Hence, from outside it is difficult to make out between the two and because of this passengers, especially those from outside the city, wrongly enter the first-class compartment. They add to the crowd and end up paying fines too,” a member of Mumbai Vikas Samiti said.

“The older trains clearly demarcated the two classes by using different paint shade etc. We have requested them to keep this in mind while designing new trains,” he added.

Jagdeep Desai, an architect, points to the lack of maintenance of the existing trains. “The railways are just spending money on the electro mechanical ventilation device which lends itself to possible failure and subsequent maintenance, or lack of it, and to try and solve problems when the solutions create more problems,” says Desai.

He also thinks the grills on the coaches could be a major safety hazard. “Another inappropriate design is the introduction of grills. The windows should be made to open up to down, not down to up. This would obviate the need to put suffocating grills on the windows and bars, ostensibly for protecting the passengers. This would be the passengers greatest enemy when they need to make an emergency exit,” he added.

The railways have already said that the new trains expected under the second phase of the Mumbai Urban Transport Project will be gleaming steel coaches, colourless from outside and multi-coloured from inside. Seventy-two 12-car trains are expected to arrive in Mumbai by 2015.

According to tentative plans, the interiors will be colourful and the seats in second class would be blue, while those in the first class would be red for better differentiation. The flooring and finishing of the new trains would be much better with modified air-cooler vent and better-placed fans.

The railways have asked various consultants, including the National Institute of Design from Ahmedabad, to suggest design and colour at a cost of Rs 10 lakh.

How to make it ‘first class’

Upgrade interiors:
First-class commuters ask for interiors that are aesthetically appealing. They want the coaches to look different from the second class ones

Window shift:
They want windows to open down and not upwards. They have also asked for the grills be moved so that the windows can be used for exit in case of an emergency

Colour separation:
They want two different colours between first and second class for better differentiation, so that one can tell the two apart while boarding

Better Ventilation:
They seek device that work and are placed correctly to end suffocation during peak hours. Commuters demand timely maintenance of machines, too