No more movies, video games and songs on Tejas, Shatabdi trains. You want to know why?
The next time you travel by Tejas Express, you may not be able to watch movies, play games and listen to songs on the LCD screens mounted behind the seats.
Fed up of passengers damaging the device, the railways has decided to remove the infotainment LCD devices from coaches of two premium trains. The recently introduced swanky Anubhuti coaches on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad Shatabdi Express also have LCD screens.
It was found that LCD screens were damaged, wires broken, headphones stolen and power switches removed. The railways cited these reasons for discontinuing the on-board infotainment service.
Senior railway board official also stated that orders have been given to all zonal railways and they would begin acting on it and removing the LCD screens. “The order was issued in February and all the zonal railways will start removing the devices soon,” said a senior railway board official.
Even as the railways is on its way to remove the LED screens from trains, it is planning to provide free Wi-Fi in all trains. “Wi-Fi facility will be available in all trains,” he said. Presently, only premium trains have the facility.
India’s first Tejas Express between Mumbai and Goa was flagged off in May 2017 and is equipped with state-of-the-art facilities. The infotainment LCD devices are prime attractions for passengers.
“We reviewed the Tejas Express and found that the infotainment devices are getting damaged frequently. The devices will be removed as passengers use smart phone and the hotspot Wi-Fi facility will be available in trains,” said Ved Prakash, director of information and publicity, Railway Board.