Chariot of the poor

Burns: Why should the race always be to the swift or the jumble to the quick-witted? Should they be allowed to win merely because of the gifts God gave them? Well, I say cheating is the gift man gives himself!
Homer: Mr. Burns, I insist that we cheat.
Burns: Excellent.

One Mr. Lalu Prasad Yadav, the Railway Minister of India, thought along similar lines - "Why should the air-conditioned compartments be only to the rich?" - and created the "Garib Rath" (Chariot of the Poor). The Garib Rath is a train that has been deployed on various important routes, like Hyderabad to Vishakapatnam, and is entirely air-conditioned. The tickets cost a little less than the regular a/c coaches on these routes do, so the poor people can "afford" to travel in style. (I'll leave the question of whether or not this is proper as an excercise to the reader.)

As it turned out, these trains aren't used only by the poor. I got to use this train when I made a recent trip to visit my grandparents in Vishakapatnam. It was a sweet ride. These trains aren't some old trains retooled as Garib Raths. Instead they have been designed specifically with this purpose, so their layouts are unique. Also, being new, they're remarkably clean. One problem is that they sort of overdosed on the cooling. At night the whole train gets really cold because of the a/c. No problem, they rent out a set of bedsheets, pillows and blankets for Rs. 25. Good business, no?