Vande Bharath - Train experience

Travelled to Bangalore earlier this week. Having travelled innumerable times on Shatabdi earlier, the journey was more or less similar. The ceiling looks sleek and refreshing, so are the interiors. At the look of it, seems the makers have used high-quality materials which gives a (relatively) premium feel of travel.

Because of it’s build quality, the ride quality was far superior. The usual jerk that we face in normal trains was missing in this one, especially while crossing tracks, picking up speed or slowing down, etc. In a crude language, the ride was as different as an automatic vs. manual gear shift in a Car.  Food (and it’s quality) is almost the same as in Shatabdi. Except that morning b/f had a Kesari ( a typical south indian sweet). in the plate. The presentation in aluminium containers spoils the otherwise premium feel of the train, but I guess there are fewer options otherwise.

Assuming that these pax have the wherewithal to spend on discretionary spends, what if one can preorder food at an additional yet nominal cost? As a diabetic, I may want to skip the Kesari and order something else. A low-sugar tea pack instead of a normal one. This could be done while booking the tickets, or a reminder SMS could be sent 48 hours before the date of travel. Of course, various other products like mobile Chargers, earphones, etc. could be sold inside the train through a catalogue, with an e-brochure being sent along with the ticket by email.

The seats are quite thinner (like in an Indigo flight) yet comfortable. What was very un-Indian was the water bottle holder was placed near the footrest. In Shatabdi trains, it is placed near the food train which is indeed cumbersome But to place it near the feet - poor design.

The plugs for charging devices are now placed in each seat unlike one per row in Shatabdi. Except that is is located right below the seat! I mean, who even designs all this? For older people, especially senior citizens, this is going to be super difficult. Of course, the design team has made up for this with a slick tray for keeping a laptop, table or even a mobile phone for viewing / watching media. 

The train’s speed and other details are displayed on a digital screen. At many times during the trip, the train’s speed crossed 100 kmph. I am sure, that over time this will improve drastically, making the “Vande Bharath” a super fast and safe train to travel. The rest room has been designed well and looks classy, similar to an airplane. There is a handrail for passengers to hold, while seated or standing (as the case may be) and the entire cabin is more spacious than ever.

The automatic doors which are within the coach are now for ingress and egress to the main coach. Quite an international feel (though Metro rails already have it). I hope they integrate the doors with a QR code, so one can scan the same with their Aadhar biometrics and enter. We can get rid of the role of a TTE. Though humans will find ways to fool the system, I am sure this is just a matter of time.

To punish the haters, there is a video of the train’s inauguration done by Hon’ble Prime Minister at Bangalore on 11 Nov. ‘22, which runs in loop. 

The only negative - if at all, is that the train departs and reaches almost at the same time as the Shatabdi Express. Not sure if they would curtail any of them in the near term or would retain both. Also, to reach the station earlier than the Shatabdi - Vande Bharath departs at 5.50am from Chennai and the Shatabdi at 6am is a pain, especially to get a taxi / public transportation. This could be well overcome by aligning the Metro Rail which comes to the Chennai Central Railway Station.

Overall, very well done ICF and Indian Railways.

Vande Bharath.

Vande Maatharam.

Jai Hind. 

Travel is an Incredible Opportunity

I have been travelling regularly on work for over a decade now. As a kid, my travel (mostly by bus & train) for outstation trips was limited to 2-3 times a year. My first business travel was in 2002 when I was called for an Interview by Shoppers Stop in Mumbai for the role of a Supervisor for their Chennai Store. I negotiated hard with the HR guy to get me a flight ticket although it was out of bounds by their policy. I flew Air India – a noon flight onward and a 2am flight for return since that was the lowest fare. Then I started flying across South India to expand the business of Benetton in 2005 with monthly visits to Delhi to our HO. The first visa on my passport was in 2006 and well, it was for Switzerland where I went to learn Travel Retail which I was implementing at Bangalore International Airport (BIAL). I flew to Singapore First Class onward and Business Class return for the first time, to speak at a conference on Indian Aviation in 2008 with my tickets being sponsored by the Organisers.  Travelled to 10 countries across Asia and Europe during my stint at BIAL. My domestic travel peaked during my stints at Café Coffee Day in 2009 where I set-up 140 cafes pan-India and thereafter at Royal Enfield Motorcycles in 2012 where I set-up 160 Dealerships across India.

Those days, I literally used to live out of a suitcase, travelling 3-4 days a week, more than 40 weeks a year. It was a lot of fun although tiring. But a sense of accomplishment looking at my professional achievements down the years. I have met many people at Airports – from childhood classmates to celebrities to politicians to academicians to Industrialists and a long list of personalities. I even travelled with a person of the third gender from Hyderabad to Bangalore once and trust me, it was some experience I would say.

Since 2014 my travel reduced to almost 10-15 days a year when I chose to become an Entrepreneur and started my offline Retail venture Smiling Baby in Chennai. I restarted my travel since 2017 when I began focusing on my Consulting Assignments. Interestingly, I have travelled over 45 weeks during the past 52 weeks, mostly by train since I prefer taking an overnight journey for distances less than 500 kms.

I have always travelled in a/c coaches this past year and mostly in the 2^nd A/c Coaches since the bills are paid by my clients. I have always wondered why & how some people manage to fly Business or First Class and have done a lot of searches on this topic online. Empirical data suggests that those who fly in higher classes are more productive upon arrival in their destination cities. They get to sit comfortably, sleep on a flat bed, read a lot, get less distracted while working due to fewer passengers and hence are refreshed by the time they arrive in the next station. Indian Prime Minister Mr. Modi is a classic example – we have seen him fresh as an Apple just the day upon arrival even after trans-Atlantic flights!

I travelled on 1^st a/c last night from Chennai to Madurai and this was so comfortable. Even in 2^nd A/c, sometimes I get side upper or lower berths and I have seen my productivity nose-dive the next day. But the 1^st a/c coaches are so comfortable. The berth is wider, fewer people, lesser banter and more comfortable a/c with a bigger pillow and nicer rugs. Trust me, the day after such comfortable travel is not just a more productive day but also a happier day, which boosts morale and work efficiencies. I travelled in 3^rd A/c a week back and had a upper berth onward and lower berth up on return and it was not even just uncomfortable but very frustrating. The next two days were a nightmare.

This is not to demean the millions of people who travel in non-a/c coaches or other means of public transport. Travelling comfortably works best for me to increase my productivity and I believe, to each his own. Her own. Whichever mode, travel is a great opportunity to learn new things, meet new people and understand life better during the journeys.