Chetan Bhagat has found Indian Railways “best train” ever! Asks people to ditch the plane ride for it
Renowned author Chetan Bhagat believes that people should skip aeroplane rides and take an Indian Railways train! Surprised? Well, the endorsement by Chetan Bhagat would certainly be music to the ears for Piyush Goyal-led Indian Railways which has been introducing several new products to compete with airlines and offer aircraft-like experience. One such initiative by Indian Railways was the launch of Anubhuti coaches in Shatabdi Express trains. It is this very Anubhuti coach in which Chetan Bhagat travelled recently. Taking to Twitter to express his appreciation, Bhagat called the new Anubhuti coaches the best Indian Railways product till date. “Took 12010 Shatabdi from Ahmedabad to Mumbai. Tried the new Anubhuti class. Super clean cabins (cleaned 4 times during trip), great food, v nice seats and excellent service. Felt like a joy trip. Best Railways product so far. Skip the plane, take the train!” Bhagat tweeted.
Anubhuti coaches were recently introduced by Indian Railways on the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Shatabdi Express. The premium Executive chair car coaches aim to compete with airlines, offering several aircraft-like comforts such as personalised infotainment LCD screens, reading lights, attendant call buttons, comfortable reclining seats with leg rest etc. These coaches are replacing Executive chair cars in Shatabdi Express trains. The Anubhuti coaches are very similar to those of the premium Tejas Express that runs between Mumbai and Goa.
Interestingly, in Anubhuti coaches, the foldable snack table finds its way into the arm-rest! The 56-seat Executive Anubhuti coach has seats in the 2+2 configuration. Other features include; LED lights, USB and mobile charging points, spacious luggage racks, display boards for passenger information, braille-integrated seat stickers, modular bio-toilets and anti-graffiti vinyl wrapping for the exterior and interior panels.
This is not the first time that Chetan Bhagat has praised Indian Railways for its service. In May this year, Chetan Bhagat had tweeted a selfie with an IRCTC staff, thanking the latter for providing services better than “business class airplane cabin staff”. At that time, Bhagat had travelled in the Ganga Express train.