HELL ON RAILS: TBILISI-BATUMI TRAIN LIKE ‘TRAVELLING IN A SAUNA’
By Anna Arzanova
The Messenger, Georgia
Aug. 17, 2006
Contrary To Previous Announcements
Georgian holidaymakers are forced to travel to Batumi on trains
like this
As holiday season reaches its peak, travelling by train from Tbilisi
to Batumi is turning into a nightmare.
In an effort to attract more Armenian tourists, Georgian Railways
moved its recently renovated rolling stock from the Tbilisi-Batumi
service to the Yerevan-Makhinjauri (Adjara) route. Eight old,
un-refurbished carriages have made an unwelcome reappearance at
Tbilisi railway station.
The current heat wave makes travelling in these Soviet-era dinosaurs
almost unbearable, and despite the fact that there are not air
conditioners or renovated toilets, the price remains the same:
GEL 20-35.
"It was awful. I could hardly bare such conditions. We knew that
there should have been conditioners and the toilets should also
have been good, but unfortunately there was nothing. We paid GEL 20
per ticket and travelled in a sauna! How can they deceive people in
such a manner?" Maia Gagoshidze, who had just arrived from Batumi,
told The Messenger.
At the beginning of the season, Georgian Railways declared that
carriages newly refurbished in a Dneipropetrovsk factory with TV sets,
DVDs, air conditioners and high-level customer service, would ply
the Tbilisi-Batumi tourist route all summer.
Lika Menteshashvili, who will soon leave for the resort town of
Kobuleti, Adjara, complained that she bought her ticket, but does
not know in what conditions she will travel.
"I want to know why they added eight old carriages and did not warn
anybody. People should have known about this beforehand by and then
to chosen how to travel. Yes, they post up statements in front of the
ticket office but not everybody pays attention, and they also refuse
to refund tickets." Menteshashvili stated.
Georgian Railways say that the notices were put up to protect
passengers’ rights. The notices say that Georgian Railways has been
forced to add un-modernised carriages to the overnight Tbilisi-Batumi
train, and advise passengers to take this into account before
purchasing their tickets.
"In order to avoid misunderstandings, we put up notices at the ticket
office. We warned people that these are old trains and gave them
the possibility to choose whether or not to buy a ticket," head of
Georgian Railways Ltd., Irakli Ezugbaia, stated.
According to cashiers at the railways station however, passengers
have not been inquiring about the conciliations of the carriages,
as the most important thing for holidaymakers is to get a ticket,
and get to the beach.