The Sleeper Coaches and beyond by Puneet Rajhans

The Sleeper Coaches and beyond

It is a common sight to see people travelling in sleeper coaches. Equally common is the sight that in these coaches passengers outnumber seats. Be it day or night it is a rarity when you would find the same number of passengers as the number of seats. On occasions when urgency of the assignment has bestowed me with the sole chance to travel by procuring a general ticket, i have travelled in these coaches by paying the difference between the general and sleeper fare. On occasions the TTI has obliged me by charging the exact fare ; and on occasions he has tried to charge me extra and refrained from issuing the receipt. Over the years i have tried to do away with this situation by taking any train which has a sleeper class availability and this followed by taking another train to my final destination. The sleeper coaches are meant to convey the angst of the commoners when despite having the confirmed ticket some are made to share the space with others who don't have a confirmed one. I won't say i have been deluged with this sort of happening as on occasions ac journey has been tried and even roadway buses option have been exercised.
When you talk about sleeper class and those who intend to travel, the underlying belief is you have to expect the unexpected turn of events. The swift turn of events may even land you in a position where you could be unseated if those bent on doing dadagiri enter the coach and do the inevitable. Millions in our country travel daily in sleeper coaches; some to visit their acquaintances and some to dissuade their acquaintances from visiting them. The aptitude of those who travel in sleeper coaches is rocksolid and equally rocksolid is their determination to complete the journey come what may. Say if you take a train ride from National Capital to Chennai, the two nights and two days in the train and that too in a sleeper coach would surely test your endurance. But there are millions who have successfully gone past this test and remained steadfast post this journey and prior to the one they are expected to take. The inhabitants of these coaches are earthy entities who have withstood the fury of nature and their neighbour. The life for them have not been topsy turvy as all turn of events in their lives are taken as inevitable progression of life . Three cheers for those who travel in sleeper coaches and yet don't lose cool as has been observed while hopping from one coach to another while on a long train ride.
Last year in the month of May when i took the early morning train from Tirupati to Secundarabad, armed with a general ticket and looking for a seat in 3AC. Knowing well that there would be more than handful of seats i approached the TTI and pleaded for a seat with the upfront payment of the difference in the fare. Having told him that postponement won't be desirable as frail health could knock me down any time soon, the TTI kept on pressurising me to either move to the general coach or abandon the journey. Seeing me not budge a bit, he offered me a seat in the 3AC with the observation that he was going out of the way to oblige me. That wasn't the correct picture given that there were large number of seats that were lying vacant. When i paid the difference, he retorted : "You have paid me the exact amount." That time i could not gauge what he meant and only later realised that he wanted to fleece me. I continued with my journey and with no interaction whatsoever. That event actually sowed the desire that it is handy to travel by a confirmed ticket than keep running around a TTI who would not oblige you with a seat unless you pay him extra. But there are millions who won't pay a bit extra come what may. Because there are a large number of vacant seats which TTI hands over to the parties with whom he has a grand and swelling understanding.
About six years ago after completing the Gir Sasan assignment as i left Ahmedabad for Ajmer, the general ticket was all i had. I took the sleeper coach as directed by TTI and paid him the difference. Having told him the writer part he desisted from any wrongdoing. But on occasions even the writer part does not the check the erratic behaviour of TTI.

The other day while taking the Pune-North Bihar Express, the journey was barely three hours but the stretch of imagination went beyond the hours spent inside the train. Having been told that i could take seat no 32, i went for the sleeper coach with bouts of apprehension coupled with the thought of journey termination. As i stepped inside, for every seat there were three to four occupants. Those having the desire to doze off saw three occupants occupy one seat. I don't know exactly how many seats a sleeper coach has but that coach was carrying a strength of over 100. Besides the seats the passengers had parked themselves next to the toilet and the adjoining areas; the area beneath the lower berth meant for luggage was equally employed for sleeping purpose; and all areas in the passage and beyond had been utilised to the hilt. Perhaps those with waiting sleeper ticket were in majority in that coach. I don't remember whether other sleeper coaches were reminiscent of this one but the train ride these passengers were supposed to take went beyond two days. Though my stay inside was for barely three hours tempered with intimidation of luggage being stolen, the experience was not a healthy one
It is nothing less than a miracle the load the Indian Railways carry each day. Equally miraculous are the powers of TTI, who are scouting for an opportunity to make easy money. To cut their fiefdom the railways need to devise a novel plan. It could go like this. In some sleeper coaches after all confirmed seats have been occupied, those with waitlisted sleeper tickets should be allowed to board and this is the normal practice. And those with general ticket waiting to get into the sleeper coach should be issued a receipt against an amount fixed by the railways- the difference between the general and sleeper fare - even if there are no vacant seats. Even if the journey is from the point of origination to the point of destination or for a duration lasting few hours, receipt should be issued against the payment made by a general ticket holder willing to go inside a sleeper coach. Though that receipt is not for a seat or seat number but a legitimate process of entry to a sleeper coach by paying the exact amount of sleeper class fare. This receipt won't get him the seat but actually a place in the aisle or nearby and thereby dethrone the chances of TTI to make easy money. That receipt would just be an entry to the sleeper coach and probably the first claimant if ever any seat goes vacant. I know as far as claim part is concerned, it can't be workable but at least the receipt would get the money that is meant for railways and not land in the pockets of TTIs for whom the railways still crave. That is the genuine way of checking the loot spawned by touts and TTIs and give the railways the resources it deserves.
As for the depleting manpower in railways, due consideration should be given for desirable candidates and nowhere attempts should be made by those forces who disrupt exams. Once the desirable manpower is there the railways would be one sector for which the common man would too care. Railways is the biggest and best sector that takes care of millions every day. Millions of prayers go for its smooth functioning.
Instead of doling out largesee for aviation and malls, the govt. needs to take care of this sector and do the needful.