Railways asks senior officials to travel in sleeper coaches instead of first-class to understand problems of passengers

Following the Elphinstone Road station stampede and series of train derailments in the recent past, the Railway Ministry has advised its top officials to drop the luxurious travel in first-class AC coaches and get first-hand experience of sleeper classes and AC three-tier.

The Railways has asked members of the Railway Board, general managers of railway zones and divisional railway managers (DRMs) in each of the 50 divisions to pursue long journeys in sleeper classes and AC three-tier.

The Railways has taken this decision to let its senior officials understand the problems that passengers face while travelling in these coaches.

It is to be noted that the senior officials of Railways normally travel in special saloons for official purposes. Now, they will have to travel in low-end coaches in regular trains.

"It has been decided that the board members, general managers and DRMs will undertake journeys in sleeper and third AC classes to take stock of the condition of coaches. At the same time, services like cleanliness and catering will also be assessed," said Anil Saxena, director general (PR), Indian Railways to Business Today.