RAILWAY SAMACHAR

Drawbacks of MRVC rakes

• The legroom between the seats is minimal as a result of which it is very difficult for the passenger at the window seat to alight at intermediate stations since he has to ask all other passengers to move their legs a bit here and a bit there to make way to get out. The regular custom of 2-3 passengers standing between opposite seats is now totally impossible. This problem was there in WR's Millenium Rake too. I expected MRVC to rectify it but unfortunately that has not happened! This issue is more prominent in first class than second class.
• There is no privacy for First class. Instead of the 4-5 feet high solid partition which was standard in the earlier rakes, these rakes have horizontal bars spaced a couple of inches apart. This will not be a problem in gents coaches, but in ladies coaches, it could be a cause of concern, because at night half of ladies FC becomes available for male commuters.
• The partition between seats & doorway is solid only upto seat level. This will be a problem in rainy season, when the seated people will get wet due to rain coming from the door. WR's millenium rake too has such a partition & I am saying this from experience of millenium rake. There is need for solid metal at least for one & half feet above seat height.
• Three grab poles in the doorway deny easy alighting/boarding when the train is crowded. I had guessed that this will happen the moment I saw the photos of doorway. Again, an example of unwanted changes spoiling the design. They should have stuck to the old design of having just one grab pole at the center of door.
• The luggage rack which MRVC designed in "state-of-the-art" design has sharp edges. The design is bad. Gap between two adjacent bars in the rack is too high. Small items can easily fall off the racks.
• Quality of newer rakes is worse than the initial batch. Paint has lost some of its gloss, and the coat of paint appears thin. As usual, the coach sidewalls are not smooth, instead they are wavy and uneven (in simpler terms, as smooth as the surface of the moon). The finishing of driving cab is horrible. Welding signs are evident all over, and near the cattle guard, the welding is extremely rudimentary. Paint has started peeling off in rakes which are just 2 months old. The new rakes start rusting within a month after manufacture, without a single drop of rain falling on them. The rakes do not feel like they cost Rs 20 crores. Definitely some money is being siphoned off by someone.
• Fit and finish is horrible on the inside as well as outside.
• For a tall person, even sitting is uncomfortable
• Overall quality of the rakes is very bad. There have been instances of grab pole in the door breaking into two pieces!
• There is no grab handle outside the door, which made boarding the trains extremely difficult.
• The flooring in some coaches of the initial rakes was smooth. There was a risk of slipping on the smooth metal.
  

Improvements in the design:

MRVC collected feedback from the commuters. From that feedback the following changes were implemented in the rakes:

• Providing grab handles outside the doors.
• Removing two extra vertical poles installed near the door.
• Replacing the present smooth flooring with chequered non-slip flooring.

MRVC had promised that leg room in all coaches will be increased by 10 cm. But that promise has not been fulfilled.