‘Paid for Comfort’: Passenger slams AC train travel after being forced to hold children for 5 hours

Man alleges he had to “adjust” though he paid for confirmed AC travel. (Image credit: Reuters)

• Passenger with confirmed AC tickets had to hold kids for 5 hours
• Overcrowding and lax enforcement reported on Pashchim Express
• Social media users echoed concerns about poor rule enforcement

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A passenger expressed frustration over his train journey, saying that although he had confirmed AC tickets, his children had to sit on his lap. The incident, shared on the subreddit r/Indianrailways, carried the title: “Paid Rs 2000 for 3rd AC tickets only to travel with kids on my lap for 5 hours. The ‘Co-operate’ culture is out of control.”

The passenger wrote that he and his wife had booked confirmed 3rd AC seats on the Pashchim Express for their roughly 300-kilometre journey from Surat to Dahod, opting not to reserve separate berths for their two daughters because of the relatively short travel time.

According to the post, the situation turned chaotic shortly after boarding when they found that their coach was already occupied by a large group of eight people carrying “at least 25 pieces of luggage,” despite holding only two confirmed tickets and said they were returning from a wedding.

He alleged that the group stuffed the under-seat storage space beneath the seats with bags and occupied much of the seating area, while repeatedly requesting others to “please co-operate.”

Frustrated by the situation, the passenger questioned what he called an entitled mindset, saying that he had “paid for a service to ensure my family travels comfortably,” but still had to hold his children throughout the entire five-hour journey.

He further claimed that the travel ticket examiner witnessed what was happening but “did absolutely nothing,” leading him to ask why passengers paid for AC class travel if it felt no different from a general compartment.

Many social media users echoed his concerns, highlighting recurring issues of overcrowding and lax enforcement on Indian Railways trains, while others suggested steps he could have taken during the journey.

One user wrote, “This is exactly why people lose faith in the system. What’s the point of booking confirmed AC tickets if rules aren’t enforced?”

Another Reddit user added, “You should have immediately called the railway helpline or lodged a complaint on the RailMadad app.”