If you thought travelling in Rajdhani Express is synonymous with comfort and luxury, think again.

For those who boarded the New Delhi-Ranchi Rajdhani Express on Friday afternoon, it turned out to be a nightmare.

Passengers of the B7 coach, who reached Ranchi on Saturday, complained that the AC in the train was not working, the toilets were filthy and the food served was stale.

“When we boarded Rajdhani from New Delhi on Friday, we thought the AC would be turned on once the train started moving at 4pm. But it didn’t work during the entire journey,” said S.M. Fahimuddin Pasha (45), who reached the capital with his wife to celebrate Eid with his family in Bariatu.

Hatia resident Vivek Kumar Nag (in his 20s), who was traveling in the same coach, seconded Pasha.

“No one was even ready to listen to our problems,” Nag, who reached the city to appear for the UPSC exam, said.

Both of them alleged that the railway staff evaded responsibility and kept on insisting that things would become normal once the train reached Kanpur at 9pm

“They gave us false hopes and we had to travel the entire way in a closed coach without AC or fan in this unbearable heat,” Pasha said, adding that the drinking water served was hot as well, indicating that the freeze in the pantry was also not working.

They said passengers in at least two other coaches faced the same problem. “Even the food served on Friday night was stale and stinking,” Vivek complained with Pasha by his side.

They alleged that initially the staff refused to accept that the food had gone stale, but later gave the passengers two rotis each around 11.30pm in the face of growing protests.

Nag said some pipes in the toilets were broken and the flush was not working. Pasha said he had registered his complaint and obtained a receipt.

He said it was difficult to perform iftar (breaking the daylong Roza) and sehri (having pre-dawn meal before beginning the fast) under such circumstances.