Nightmarish train journey
I was going to Dhaka from Mymensingh by Teesta Intercity train on 24-2-09. I had a ticket of Shovan Chair (class) with seat no. Ga-58. Of the three classes, Shovan Chair stands in the middle.
The train reached Mymensingh Railway Station at 5:25pm-- about half an hour behind the schedule. But it reached Dhaka at 9:25pm -- one and a quarter hour later than the schedule. The distance it traversed was only 120 km which means it maintained an average speed of 30 km per hour in these days of ICT of the 21st century! The train was getting late to later increasingly with the passage of time due mainly to several unscheduled stoppages.
The compartment was dirty all over and the seats were below standard. Further, it was jam-packed with excess passengers, possibly without tickets, who had blocked the path way in the middle of it causing inconveniences to the bona fide passengers.
The greatest suffering caused was its toilet system that went beyond description and reflected poor taste of the authorities concerned. The door of the toilet could not be closed when someone got into it for use. My seat unfortunately was close to the toilet and hence bad smell was coming from it all the way through the ever open door. Further, it had no water supply and the lower part of the basin was broken to move to and fro with jerking of the moving train.
May I draw the attention of the authorities concerned as to how a compartment like this could be considered as useable by the passengers? By the same taken, would they feel that the compartment should be repaired fully or replaced by new ones? Also, illegal intruders should be expelled after proper ticket checking (there was not a single checking all the way).
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