[himanshu]

It has been a couple of months since the Chennai – Mysuru Vande Bharat express was launched, finally got my chance to ride this train to Bengaluru. I generally try to take newly launched super fast trains very soon after they get flagged off, to get that “fresh” experience of the train. Did the Chennai – Madurai Tejas express on Day 2, but various other priorities prevented me from trying out the Vande Bharat earlier.

The perfect opportunity arose when my engineering batchmates decided to meet in Bengaluru to get together with two of the visiting America-basis. Although flying would have been more efficient this time, as the meet-up was at the Angsana resort near the Bengaluru airport, however, the draw of trying out the Vande Bharat made me choose the train over a flight this time. I would have loved to drive, especially since I had acquired a new BMW only a week ago, but since I was recuperating from a shoulder injury, which made driving slightly painful, decided against it.

On a recent journey on the Tejas express, I felt the regular Chair car was a bit cramped. As one gets on in age, subconsciously one seeks more comfort. Decided to go for the Executive Chair car on the Vande Bharat, though it is twice the cost and nearly as expensive as a flight to Bengaluru. Also, it would be a good chance to check out the seating and comfort features of this flagship class.

Took a cab and reached Chennai Central station by 5.25 am. The Vande Bharat had secured its pride of place on platform number 1! The benefit of Chennai Central is that one can walk to any platform without climbing stairs, so in a few minutes, I was at Platform 1 and had a first look at the sleek and majestic Vande Bharat.

 

The white and blue colour palette of the train gives it an arresting appearance during both night and daytime. The exteriors had been well washed and maintained really cleanly, I could not find any dirty areas or stains. The train has been in operation for 3 months, on a daily basis travelling 1000 kilometres, yet did not show any wear and tear, I am sure it is getting the top priority in terms of upkeep and maintenance. Also fortunately, the aam junta in these southern states don’t pelt stones at the Vande Bharat, even if it represents a shining achievement of the ruling Central Government!

Fortunately, the two Executive Chair car coaches were located in the middle of the train, which meant it would not be too close to the engine. In many trains, the topmost class coach (e.g. AC First Class H1 coach) is located almost right next to the engine, after say one sitting coach, making it very noisy during the journey, with all the honking from the engine going on. There were approximately seven regular Chair car coaches on either side of the EC1&2 coaches.

There is a clear evolution in the design of the coaches compared to the previous premium trains such as the Tejas express. The surfaces are finished better and the edges are well-rounded, to make sure there are no sharp edges or protrusions that could potentially injure passengers when moving about. There is plenty of space on either end of the couch to store luggage, making sure there is a gap between the last row of seats and the back wall. The overhead luggage rack could however have been deeper and a little lower to allow for taller luggage to be stowed.

The Executive chair car seats are wide and well-spaced. As someone who is 6’2” tall, I found the room between my seat and the one ahead to be quite generous, even when the front seats were pushed back all the way. The seats have a good level of reclining possible, I would say nearly 15 degrees or so. The seat cushion at the base is just right, being sufficiently firm for the long journey, while not being too hard. However, the seat back is rock hard!

There is a generously sized footrest provided, which reclines at a 45-degree angle. It is really comfortable and makes all the difference to seating comfort when catching a snooze. There are generous seat back pockets where one can stow laptops, newspapers, etc.

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