‘WR pushing old train as new Flying Ranee’

The first day of the new Flying Ranee Express train between Mumbai and Surat on Monday shocked passengers and they complained in large numbers saying it was an old one with worn out seats broken armrests and had many other problems They questioned how the minister of railways flagged off a secondhand broken trainldquoToday the first day of 1292122 Flying Ranee express LHB coaches itrsquos in a pathetic condition All coaches are crowded and in dirty condition seats are brokenrdquo a commuter Pratik Patil said Another commuter Rajdutt Patil said ldquoWhy was there a rush to upgrade it to LHB classrdquoSources said the train was earlier with the Central Railway and was used on the MumbaiManmad route as Panchavati Express a few years ago However passengers there had complained in large numbers which midday had reported in 2018Crowding in the first class compartment right A leak in the Flying Raneersquos Vice FC coach PicShilkesh BarildquoIf LHB coaches are so user friendly then why were these rakes rejected when used for Panchavati Exp in CR People protested there and CR rolled back its decision Surely there must be some genuine reason CR withdrew this rake Or are CR officers not competent enoughrdquo commuter Virag Mhatre said Another commuter Parth said ldquoAround 400 arm rests are missing from the rake coaches provided are 10 years old Please check the seats of the chair car also you will get whatrsquos the current status of the rake Please provide a fresh rake for the flying RaneerdquoMP approachedStation Consultative Committee members from Palghar Himanshu Vartak also Virag Mhatre and Pratik Patil have approached Member of Parliament Lok Sabha Rajendra Gavit with the issue ldquoWe kindly request your support in advocating for the replacement of the Chair Car coach with the general coach for the unreserved coaches on the Flying Ranee The overcrowding and extreme rush on this train route have become major concerns for passengers We are aware of discontent among daily commuters who have expressed their unhappiness and frustration over the replacement of doubledecker coaches with chair car coaches Therefore in consideration of their concerns we propose the introduction of general coaches instead of chair car coaches as this could provide at least some relief to the passengersrdquo they stated in their letter to GavitWR defends moveWestern Railway officials said 23 seats were found in torn condition at small patches which were attended to immediately and no passengers were inconvenienced during the journey They said all the seats in the remaining coaches are in good conditionldquoTransition of 1292221 Flying Ranee Exp from ICF to LHB aims to enhance passenger comfort and ensure a higher level of safety during travel Further with introduction of LHB coaches the train is fit to run at sectional speed of 130 kmph to improve the punctuality of the trainldquoThese coaches are also longer in comparison to the ICF design resulting in more carrying capacity With 21 coaches now the seating capacity of LHB rake is 1999 passengers Double decker coaches in Flying Ranee completed their service life and thus were replaced with LHB coaches Total seating capacity of 19 coaches was 1995 passengers in old ICF rake ICF double decker coaches have disadvantage of less headspace and are less seniorcitizen friendlyrdquo said a WR officialNegative points in new LHB coach as per commuters Replaced double decker with single decker Double decker seating capacity 136 and single Decker 102 Old coaches attached Less free space in LHB coaches compared to double deckers Leakage found in FC coach Damaged seat attached No uniform colour in the new Flying Ranee Less width of doors compared to double decker coaches The more than 43yearsold Flying Ranees identity completely missed Chances of stampede due to less space