Fed Up Of Passengers Damaging The Devices, Railways To Remove Infotainment Facilities From Tejas Express

There will not be any infotainment facilities like watching news or movies or playing games on LCD screens when you travel by Tejas express next time. As per the report by Hindustan Times, it was found that the passengers damaged infotainment LCD devices from coaches of two premium trains. The wires were broken, headphones were stolen, and power switches were removed. The railways has decided to discontinue the facilities due to the above-mentioned reasons.

“The order was issued in February and all the zonal railways will start removing the devices soon,” said a senior railway board official to Hindustan Times. He added that they would begin acting on the issue soon. “We reviewed the Tejas Express and found that the infotainment devices are getting damaged frequently. The devices will be removed as passengers use the smartphone and the hotspot Wi-Fi facility will be available in trains,” said Ved Prakash, director of information and publicity, Railway Board to Hindustan Times.

The officials also informed that they were planning to provide Wi-fi facility in all trains. Currently, only premium trains have this facility.

Tejas Express

It was in May 2017 that India’s first Tejas Express train between Mumbai and Goa was flagged off. The train is equipped with luxurious facilities. Tejas Express made its first run from Mumbai to Goa from Mumbai’s Chhatrapati Shivaji Terminus on May 22. Infotainment LCD devices are the major attractions for the passengers. The train was launched amid much fanfare.

The 20-coach modern train has executive class and chair class, with the coaches offering tea and coffee vending machines, magazines and snacks tables. Other unique features of the train include automatic doors, vacuum bio-toilets, touch-free water taps in toilets and secured gangway. The train is WiFi enabled.

Tejas is India’s first semi-high-speed full air-conditioned train. These are the fastest trains in India along with Rajdhani Express, Gatimaan Express, Shatabdi Express, and Duronto Express. Tejas express was one of the most awaited promises of Railway budget 2016.

Not the first time

At least 12 of the high-quality headphones offered for the screens showcasing advertorial content were missing after the first trip of Tejas Express. The matter came to light when several passengers complained that they were not given headphones to plug into the screens. “Toilets too were unclean. Attendants were ignorant. The food was not as good as during the inaugural run,” a passenger told Hindustan Times.

The Logical Indian take

India has a population of more than a billion and the Indian Railways is responsible for the commute of thousands of passengers every day. Tejas Express was started to provide travellers with a comfortable ride for a considerably short route. Its fare, including all the amenities provided, is 20% higher than that of Shatabdi Express, as per railways officials.

When a state-of-the-art mode of transportation is developed, the standard of care on the part of both railway staff and commuters should be double than that needed in all other trains.

The passengers are hugely responsible for damaging public property without realising that it is the tax payer’s money which will be spent on its repair.

Also, read:

1. Tejas Express Returns With Broken LCD Screens, Stolen Headphones And Piles Of Garbage On Its First Trip
2. Indian Railways To Launch Trains Which Will Give World-Class Facilities – Know About It