I often think about & miss those days when as a child, I used to travel with my family between LHR-KHI on those 4 berth compartments with berths covered with green or maroon velvety fabric whenever we visited Pakistan for vacation. I and my siblings used to have so much fun... like who would keep that little staircase (For small kids to climb on the upper berth) to their side, watching the vast green fields, tracks, landscapes, people of various cultures (Sindh / Punjab), those cows, hens, other animals, cow dung, those towers to heat bricks... Watching all of those views from inside your compartment sitting on those green / maroon velvety berths while listening to your favorite music on your sony "walkman", hehe...
So I moved to Pakistan and wanted to experience the same as an adult. Heard alot of hype about "Korakoram express" & planned a trip to KHI with my mom... Within 2 hours of getting on the compartment, I wanted to get out. Reason? It was so congested, I felt like I was stuck in a capsule or lying in a closed coffin because neither could I keep my legs straightened out (Because at about 5.7ft. I am relatively taller than chinese people) nor was I able to spread out my arms on the upper berth I had. Soon I started feeling suffocated too. It was a 4-berths compartment with two strange ladies who were fine. But I had major issue with the tiny size of the compartment in which I could hardly breath. Very very disappointed because it was nothing like my experience from the childhood on the 'AC Sleeper' of Tezgam. I did not even know what those bogies I traveled on as a kid were called until I did a thorough internet search to find out. It took me a couple of hours to find out that those "AC Sleepers" are discontinued (which made me very very sad to be honest) or only used with Tezgam & Khyber Mail trains these days (which gave me a slight hope that I still have a chance to enjoy & reminisce the old times by travelling on them once again as an adult).
I went through that detailed thread about "Business Express" train but after knowing that the compartments/berths space/sizes are same as that of Korakoram express, I am very very disappointed & I just wish I could somehow, anyhow, somehow travel on the same AC sleepers that I often did as a kid with my family....
I have watched some videos on youtube showing the current very poor condition of those AC Sleeper compartments... Made me throw up... The ones I remember travelling on used to be so clean and fresh... The floors, the berths, the washroom, the sockets, the silver stair case (For kids)... everything so clean and shiny.... I just wish so bad I could travel on the same. They could add more bogies with same size, space, velvety fabric maroon or green on the berths, very clean floors, toilet and very refreshing air... And if I remember correctly, there also used to be a dining hall connected with the AC Sleeper bogey of 5 compartments I guess (& one used to be with 6 berths & one with 2 berths).
So the main purpose of writing this thread is.... is there ANY possibility I will find those same compartments in a good condition if I plan a trip from Lahore to Karachi just for the sake of reminiscing the childhood memories? On Tezgaam or Khyber mail does not matter. But has anyone recently traveled on what I have described above? If yes, I am in desperate need of some information because if there is a possibility, I wish to plan the trip within this month of August so please respond as quickest as possible.
I wish somebody could tell me I do have a choice to travel without feeling like sleeping / lying down in a coffin due to unnaturally smaller size (For normal built Pakistanis atleast) & suffocating due to too much congestion.....