‘This is the current situation of AC 1st tier’: Frustrated passenger posts video of ticketless passengers in Mahananda Express

A passenger travelling in the first AC compartment of Mahananda Express has posted a video on X which shows that the premium compartment is so crowded that passengers are standing shoulder-to-shoulder. 

Visuals show that ticketless passengers are seen cramped together, standing shoulder-to-shoulder in the AC 1st tier compartment, seemingly exceeding the designated capacity. 

The user named Swati Raj, clearly frustrated and concerned, wrote: "This is the current situation of AC 1st tier in Mahananda 15483. I request management to check this immediately as we are not feeling safe when we are paying extra for it."

 She urged the authorities to "check this immediately" and highlighted the lack of security felt by passengers despite paying significantly more for the advertised comforts of AC 1st tier travel.

Several other users also posted the same video on X.

Swati further revealed that she tried to address the issue through official channels by contacting the Railway Protection Force (RPF) on the emergency helpline 139. While the RPF personnel responded, the train's brief stop of only 2 minutes prevented them from effectively intervening inside the overcrowded compartment.

"We did contact them on 139, RPF came in one of the station to clear the rush but the stoppage was only for 2 mins so he couldn’t come inside to clear it. The problem is RPF should be present inside train to handle these kind of situations. From outside they cant do much," Swati tweeted.

Netizens expressed their anger and frustration at the poor train conditions. “After paying a high price, the passengers face such troubles from trespassers. This is a shameful failure of Indian Railways. Ticket collectors (TCs) are very corrupt, and there is no security on trains. It is better to take a flight than to travel in such messy, crowded trains!,” a user wrote.

Another one commented, “Why do I feel that suddenly this unreserved entering AC coaches has increased? Does it seem like a pattern?.” “This is absolutely pathetic..1AC tickets are close to airfare...and this is the service we get.😕,”  a third user wrote. 

"This is absolutely pathetic by @RailMinIndia to let the services slide so much that unreserved passengers are invading 1A coaches. Maybe you guys want to do a "Then and Now" about this. It was never this bad in previous govts," a user commented.

“Travelling by unauthorised passengers is a major problem. They travel in the reserved coaches frequently. In fact, travelling by any train in any class has become uncomfortable and unsafe. Nowadays there is no security and safety in the train journey,” a user commented.

This comes after recently in Diwali, the scenario was particularly bad, with many trains being overcrowded and ticketless travellers taking over seats and compartments. This caused a lot of inconvenience and frustration to confirmed ticket holders.

Angry commuters took to social media to share videos and photos of overcrowded trains and ticketless travellers. They also slammed the Railways for its mismanagement and demanded refunds for their tickets.

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