The inaugural run of the glass-roofed Vistadome coach on the Jan Shatabdi Express between Dadar and Madgaon Central on Monday turned out to be a dampener as it could garner less than 50% of the capacity of the train.
The railways had decided to attach the 40-seat coach on the Jan Shatabdi Express on this scenic route to enable passengers to get panoramic view of the Konkan region and the Western Ghats.
The beautiful views, however, could not help the express get as many passengersas they wanted. But, the ones who were on board were curious about the coach and enthralled with the views. So far, the coach has only been booked for Dusshera and Diwali.
The air-conditioned Vistadome coach was attached to the last coach of the express during its inaugural run.
The passengers spent much time in the observation lounge of the coach than on seats.
Even on en-route stoppages, the passengers were curiously observing the Vistadome coach, besides clicking the photos and enquiring about it with the railway staffers.
Prathmesh Yeram, a passenger said that he was so excited about the journey on Vistadome coach that he booked a ticket as soon as it was available. “Earlier I had travelled on the Tejas Express on Konkan route. Now, I am travelling on Vistadome coach from Dadar to Chiplun, and I am feeling very happy. It’s like a first-day first-show experience,” Yeram told HT.
According to railway sources, around 20 seats on the coach were empty and among the first travellers, there were several media persons. Even the coach is not even half booked for next several days barring Dusshera and Diwali festival days. The coach is however, already 100% booked for the journey on September 30, and October 19, while the booking for October 21 is 75% full.
Dussehra falls on September 30 and Diwali starts from october 18.
Sunil Udasi, chief spokesperson of CR said that they are hoping good response to the coach during peak season that starts after monsoon get over. “Most trains on the Mumbai-Goa route run empty during monsoon season, but this is just the beginning. We are hopeful that the Vistadome coach will get booked during the peak season,” he said.
Railway sources, said that poor passenger response could also be because of the steep fare, which is Rs2, 235 for Dadar-Madgoan journey, higher or on par with that of budget airlines.
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