Big move following passengers' dissatisfaction; New Jan Shatabdi Express is here

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Jan Shatabdi Express recently came under serious criticism after they changed seats in the new coaches. Passengers expressed dissatisfaction with the seats, noting that they were steeply upright, lacked recline, and offered no leg support. Taking the criticism into consideration, Southern Railway decided to course-correct and announced plans to install new bucket seats with a reclining feature. Now, the Thiruvananthapuram Division of Southern Railway shared images on social media showing these newly allocated bucket-style seats and the brand-new coaches equipped with them.

The new images show high-quality push-back seats. In the first phase, the seats on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kozhikode Jan Shatabdi will be replaced, followed by the second-sitting seats on the Thiruvananthapuram-Kannur Jan Shatabdi in the next phase.

Previously, the Jan Shatabdi trains were equipped with the same upright, non-reclining seats found in the general coaches of ordinary trains, making the travel gruelling for passengers. This decision led to widespread complaints from various quarters. The arrival of the new coaches will come as a great relief to passengers. The upright seats had to be installed after the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai stopped manufacturing sitting coaches specifically designed for the Jan Shatabdi. The new coaches have now been sourced from North India.

MP Kodikunnil Suresh recently announced that the ordeal faced by ordinary passengers on the Venad Express would soon come to an end. He indicated that a new train service along the Ernakulam-Kottayam-Chengannur-Kollam route would be launched within ten days. Reports suggest the service will depart from Ernakulam around 4 PM and travel to Kollam.