Open letter to Mr. Suresh Prabhu - do you think you owe any explanation to agitated passengers?

Dear Mr. Suresh Prabhu,

I never imagined I had to write an open letter like this to anyone forget about writing to the railway minister of India. Before starting my letter let me mention that I have the highest regard for your knowledge and capabilities, I am also a great admirer of some of the work that you did as a minister in the previous NDA government which is why I am not that happy to write this letter, but I think I don't have any other option. 

Let me also tell you that till my last trip, which was yesterday, I was a big fan and a staunch supporter of Indian railways. No one ever managed to convince me not to travel by train in spite of air travel becoming very common and affordable. I always preferred the railway as my mode of travel for long-distance travel, I always enjoyed my train journey despite some inconvenience in booking the ticket because of the heavily crowded and forever overbooked Pune-Varanasi route. But all these things never discouraged me from traveling by train even on very short visits to India. I always valued and looked forward to my train journeys as they are an integral part of my childhood memories. But what no one ever managed to do all those years your department managed to do during just one journey. My last train journey was one of the most horrible customer service experiences I ever had with any organization in the world. First of all, I don't think the Indian railway believes in anything like customer service, even on the inquiry window of Varanasi junction the concerned person was answering the queries of passengers as if he was doing some kind of favor on them. I hope you are having a great time while enjoying your posting as Indian railways minister, I hope you understand that this post comes with many perks as well as many responsibilities. I hope you have a good idea about how this whole organization works and how this system functions. So, with all this background now let me tell you about my horrible experience with the organization you are currently heading.

I booked my return travel from Varanasi to Pune by Gyan Ganga Express (train No. 22132) for 12th August. The train was scheduled to depart at 4.35 AM. On 8th August, just one day before I departed from Pune, people told me that it would get canceled as the train that goes to Varanasi from Pune (22131) and returns as Gyan Ganga Express is canceled. This was based on some local newspaper report, we couldn't confirm this from the official website or helpline number. I still wonder what was the source of that newspaper or was it a mere lucky guess? But I thought that if it was that obvious then the railway website and helpline would mention this, but both didn't have any information about the cancellation of any train. But as everyone sounded so confident I booked another ticket for the train to Mumbai leaving on the 13th (train number 12168) as there was no other train for Pune. I did this not to derail my travel plans just in case the newspaper's prediction turned out to be more accurate than the railway website and helpline. I reached Varanasi on the 9th of August, on the 10th night my brother informed me that my train on the 12th was canceled officially as per the railway website, so it seems all other sources were right and predicted this cancelation much before the railway department. I was amazed that as a passenger traveling by that train, I didn't receive any official communication about this cancelation. I can't believe that in this era when cell phones have become such a common commodity in India, the Indian railway doesn't have an SMS (text) information system for its customers where they can inform their passengers about any delays and cancellations well in advance to avoid any inconvenience to them. I also wonder why the online update system is so slow to update any relevant information. It fails to deliver especially when there is some sort of confusion and people try to get relevant information from the website as it is the official source. I immediately booked another ticket (third one) via 'tatkal' for train 12168 departing on 12th August which was scheduled to reach Lokmanya Tilak terminus on 13th August at 12.25 PM. So, I had three confirmed tickets in my hand, but with no guarantee that any one of them would take me to Pune or Mumbai on the 13th. Don't you think this uncertainty should be a matter of great concern for the person in charge of the Indian Railways? Don't you think as a passenger who pays full fair and relies on the scheduled timetable of trains for their travel and other plans your system should be more considerate towards their inconvenience?

But the story doesn't end here. On the 12th morning, I came to know that train 12168 scheduled to depart on the 13th also got canceled, so, now, I was left with only one option, the train 12168 departing on the 12th which was not yet canceled. Many people advised me to take flight as they were not sure that even this train would depart on time, but I was adamant that reaching Pune 6-7 hrs after my earlier plan was not a big deal if it allowed me to experience the train journey with my daughter and mom. But it seems I was living in a fool's paradise by believing your website and helpline which kept on informing me till the 11th night that the train was scheduled to depart at the right time (10.25 AM). My village is almost 2 hrs journey from Varanasi, so, we started our preparations early in the morning on the 12th. We initially planned to leave around 8.00 AM to reach Varanasi ~10.00 AM. By chance, my cousin who happened to be the only person carrying a smartphone with an internet pack checked the current status of our train and found that it was delayed by 6 hrs and 35 minutes and was rescheduled to leave at 5 PM. Then also I thought not too bad, as I knew that trains were getting rescheduled because of the recent accident near Harda in MP. So, based on that information we left our village around 2.30 PM, on my way I called railway help line number 139 to inquire about the train status and they informed me that it was scheduled to depart at 5.00 PM from platform 9. We reached Varanasi at 4.30 PM, electronic board on the station was showing the scheduled departure time at 5 PM. I met some passengers waiting there since 9 AM as they didn't have any smartphones or when they checked the website told them that the train was scheduled to depart at the right time. The inquiry counter was flooded with people asking about that same train as people were running out of patience as they were getting different information from different sources. Surprisingly, the guy at the counter instead of being more understanding and sympathetic towards agitated passengers started losing his patience with each person asking about the same train. His replies started sounding more angry and arrogant,  finally, he declared that the train would only depart once train 12167 arrived at Varanasi and he didn't have any idea when it would arrive. Can you believe this? Can you justify this kind of response from the official counter of the railway department? After this announcement, he literally ordered everyone standing in line to inquire about that train along with others waiting for the same train, he told everyone to leave the place and come back around 10.00 PM to get any further information. He even called police personnel to disperse the crowd around the inquiry window. Amazingly the screen on the station was still showing departure time for the train at 5.00 PM!

The nightmare didn't end there. I saw many people in that heat and humidity with kids as young as 2 or 3 months sitting there helplessly as they had nowhere to go and had no option but to wait indefinitely for that train. I checked waiting rooms for passengers, they were already overcrowded with people sitting on the floor. I really felt bad for all those people who blamed their fate for this situation and told me not to be so surprised and shocked as this is how this system works. Many also told me that there wouldn't be any use in registering any complain as no one would bother to pay any attention to it. Mr. Prabhu, can you believe what people think about your department and how low expectations they have from it? If this doesn't concern and worry you I wonder what will? At 10.00 PM the online update was that it would leave at 11 PM, I came back to Varanasi station at 10.45 to find that finally train 12167 had arrived and 12168 would depart at 11.55 PM. Then at 11.55 PM, they announced it would depart at 12.30 AM (on 13th August), and after 12.30 AM they stopped making any further announcements about that train. I was wondering that even after the train arrived at Varanasi station how come these people can't tell passengers the exact time of its departure? What kind of system is this that changes its previous announcements at the last minute with zero regard for its passengers' convenience? Why do these people have no respect and concern towards their passengers who have been waiting since morning? No one around me had any answers for all these questions, I hope that at least you have some courtesy and courage to explain all this. Finally, the train arrived at 1.00 AM, and departed around 1.30 AM, almost 15 hrs after its scheduled departure which was changed I don't know how many times.

The journey was good, I enjoyed it despite the shocking incident of the theft of my mom's cell phone. The passenger who came to our compartment after the ticket checker (TC) sent him when he found out that one passenger didn't show up while scanning the compartment. This person stole her phone in broad daylight, that too from a compartment that had attendants and was supposed to be safe and secure. He took advantage of the situation of already tired and dejected passengers who were trying to catch up with their lost sleep. I tried to register the complaint with TC who indirectly blamed me for this incident and told me to call 138, who then told me to call 182. Finally, they registered my complaint and promptly sent police to the next station to inquire about it and register the FIR. It was a pleasant surprise to see that at least something was working and I give them full credit for their prompt response. The police officer told me not to worry as they would surely find the phone and return it to my mom, I don't think they will, but it was so nice of him to be sympathetic towards our inconvenience and it was a great feeling to hear some comforting words from someone who at least didn't blame me for being in this situation and I really thank him for that.

Now, Mr. Prabhu if you get a chance to read this, what do you have to say about all this? Do you think you owe any explanation or at least a sincere apology to all those passengers who went through so much inconvenience and trauma? Do you think that all those passengers should be compensated for all this inconvenience? Based on many people's suggestions I don't expect any answers but still, I am trying to reach you. Why this department is so unconcerned about the needs and convenience of millions of passengers who rely on it for their daily travels? Why there is no concept of customer care, especially among people who are supposed to deal with customers directly? Why do people at the inquiry window lose patience so fast, when it is their job to answer all queries no matter how many times people ask? Why the system is so slow and pathetically inaccurate in updating the status of their own trains? Why TCs fail to do their job properly and blame passengers? For our entire journey, no one came to check our tickets, they only scanned the compartment to check for vacant seats. I hope you have answers to at least some of these questions and bother to respond. If not me, I think millions of passengers deserve your attention and apology, they also need some sort of promise from you that such things will stop happening or if they happen, the passengers will be compensated for their troubles.

Please look into this matter seriously before some passengers react violently against this mismanagement. I hope this letter sounds a wake-up alarm in your ears rather than thinking of it as a rant by some frustrated passenger.

Eagerly waiting for your reply,
Sincerely,
One agitated passenger

Mr. Modi, I wish it was only one party's fault

I heard the slogan "Congress mukta Bharat" (Congress-free India) during this year's (2014) general election campaign by BJP leader Mr. Narendra Modi. Many BJP supporters liked the idea, after all, who doesn't like to wipe out their political rival from the picture? Somehow every other problem that India is facing today is blamed upon the Congress party and its ideologies. This is because the Congress has ruled India for most of the time since independence (1947). Superficially, this claim looks very legit, but if we analyze it closely it doesn't look only one party's fault. BJP itself has been in national politics in some form or another for the last 40 years or so. They also got a chance to run the central government for ~ 9 years in between (six years on their own and three years as a part of the Janta Party govt). They have been a major opposition party for the last few years and also have their government in some states of India. So, part of the blame also goes to them, but they may not accept this as they want to put all the blame on Congress. No doubt Congress cannot escape the responsibility, they have to accept responsibility for their mistakes but there is more than one culprit who is responsible for all this mess.

Over the years India has developed a very corrupt, unaccountable political and bureaucratic system. Our politicians hardly tried to modify the structure of the police or the bureaucratic setup that the British designed for the rulers. India got the new constitution which promises so many great things but they didn't support it with system reforms which was required to deliver those promises to every citizen. This system is still running but it failed to deliver the expected results. Lack of transparency and accountability are major salient features of this system. This system also heavily depends on the people who are running it, if they are honest and sincere system might produce some desired results but if not then there is ample scope for corruption, and if they are caught there are many loopholes to escape. So, the failure of Congress or even the BJP to deliver great results is in part because of the nature of this system. As this system is very beneficial for rulers, it allows them to have complete control over the judiciary, investigating agencies, and police (after all British designed it to control India), so these parties are very reluctant to change it. Whenever they got the opportunity Congress or BJP both never showed any intent to introduce desired reforms to make this system more transparent and accountable. They both made many promises which were not fulfilled mostly because of widespread corruption in the entire system. 

This so-called Congress-free India promised by the BJP is not going to be any different with this same system. I wish a solution was so simple to all the problems that India is facing today. Actually, no matter which party comes into power, with the same system in place, and with the same loopholes, not many things are going to change for the common people of India. India needs independent agencies that can implement existing laws impartially and effectively to protect people's interests. India lacks truly independent government branches, almost everything is under the control of the government. There are many laws and rules that protect the interests of political parties and their leaders, they all fight for it and these rules are effectively implemented but similar treatment is not offered to common people. They are at the mercy of these leaders or parties to get anything from the government. In a true democracy, it's the government of the people, by the people, for the people but we don't see that picture in India. That's why people are frustrated with the current system. This is the main reason why new and inexperienced parties like AAP are getting so much support and attention. It's easy to blame one single party and it's easy to put all the blame on them, but actually, it's the fault of the whole system which involves all political parties and voters. We need some reforms in every sector, it doesn't matter who brings them but we need them for sure. I think all political parties are aware of this demand but somehow they are not willing to take any action as the current system suits them. After all, who wants to dilute their share in power, who wants to lose their control over each agency including the judiciary. Congress-free India is not an appealing idea Mr. Modi, I don't even want it because I know it is not going to change anything, but yes, corruption-free India is desirable. A transparent and accountable system is very appealing and if you want to talk about that then I am listening. Another request to you and all leaders from other parties is it would be great if you all could support your promises with some concrete actions because, for the last many decades, we have only listened to false promises, especially about dealing with corruption. So far it is just talk but no walk from all political parties and I expect to see some change this time.

Thanks for reading and please share your views on this topic.

[Copyright: Vinay Thakur. Please contact the author for re-posting or publishing]