Side berth gone, but upper berth stays put

The railways were hoping to earn some brownie points by knocking out the side middle berths from mail and express trains. But the litany
of the passengers continue. Many have complained that by not lowering the side upper berths to its original height, travelling has become cumbersome.

To generate extra revenue, former railway minister Laloo Prasad Yadav had introduced the side middle berth on all trains. Not only was travel difficult for the three people on these berths, passengers on the opposite side too were inconvenienced as sitting facility for the person on the side middle berth was slotted there. With complains pouring in from every quarter, the railways withdrew these berths in July. Some are yet to be dismantled, but reservations are not being issued by them.

Why the side upper berth was not lowered while knocking out the middle is something the Railways have never explained. The yawning gap that's left between the side berths now make it a spacious place for the passenger on the lower berth while the one above him is boxed in.

"I travel to Mumbai in Vidarbha or Sevagram Express frequently. On a couple of occasions when I was allotted the upper berth, I found travelling very difficult. At Bhusawal, when I tried to get up I banged my head against the roof," said Pankaj Khedkar, a businessman from Itwari. "The railways seemed to have completely overlooked that they had to lower the upper berth when knocking out the middle one,"

Central Railway divisional railway manager (DRM) D K Sharma, who is in Gujarat to attend a seminar, was not available for comments. South East Central Railway (SECR) officials too had no answers. "We are removing the middle berths but regarding the upper berths, there are no directions and hence I won't be able to comment," said Pradeep Kamle, senior divisional mechanical engineer (Sr DME) of SECR, Nagpur.

According to railway sources, the adjustment has to be done at the zonal level. Both, the SECR and Central Railway have well-equipped workshops at Raipur and Matunga in Mumbai, respectively, and the work can be done in there. But, neither wants to act in the absence of any clear instructions.