VIJAYAWADA: Passengers travelling via a special train organised by IRCTC for 'Dakshin Bharat Darshan' Friday staged a protest against the severe discomfort they had experienced on the train at Vijayawada Railway Station.
The train, with around 600 people onboard, had left Secunderabad station on Thursday night. When the train made its first halt at the Vijayawada station at 6 am on Friday, the angry passengers protested against the poor services available on the train and lodged a complaint with the railway authorities at the station in the connection.
“We came on the trip with great expectations, but, in just hours after boarding train, we understood, how wrong we were. My family got seat and berth in compartment number 11. You ask me what is not wrong ? Everything. It seems officials used a discarded compartment for the trip. Nothing is working properly, no fan, no lights, no water taps, there are no doors for toilets and windows are not shutting down. It was hellish,” a woman passenger complained.
“This is what is Swachh Bharat. Come and see, how dirty the compartments are,” fumed a middle-aged passenger.
Following the complaints from the passengers, railway authorities at Vijayawada took up repair works, cleaned the coaches and watered the train. Finally, the train, which was to depart at 7:30 am left the station at 11:45 am.