TIRUCHY: Passengers could be in for a disappointment as most of the onboard entertainment systems in Tejas Express do not work.
Sources said this has been the case for over two months. "Railways has to ensure all LCD screens are working as several passengers choose this train only because of its facilities. Though Tejas provides several advanced facilities, it is disappointing Railways is not taking any step to rectify minor issues of this train," said R Balakrishnan, a passenger.
Railways have so far not announced the privatisation of this train, but unions alleged the transporter is purposely ignoring the complaints against Tejas as it is set to go to private hands.
"Railways is ignoring this issue as it is planning to give this train to private players. For instance, the Railway Board had recently considered the potential of the Chennai-Madurai route for running private trains. Therefore, they would have ignored the complaints about additional facilities of this train as they are sure the board would give it to private operators," a union leader said.
Sources, however, refuted the allegation. "Minister Piyush Goyal clarified in Parliament on Wednesday that Indian Railways has not yet finalised details of train operations that would be privatised. Therefore, it is too early to jump to the conclusion that all this is being done deliberately," an official said.
Tiruchy division is helpless as the train comes under Madras division.
"We will inform the Madras division about this issue. They will check whether it is because of any hardware problem or other issues. All the coaches of this train have been built at Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. Therefore, they have the team there to rectify the issue," a technical officer said.
Several passengers wondered why Railways has chosen to ignore the issue for so long. "If this is the situation on an advanced train, what would it be like on other trains? Railways should ensure all entertainment systems of this train are working before starting a journey.
Otherwise, they should give compensation to the affected passengers as they are paying for all these facilities," said N Manoharan, a passenger.