Story of change. Six months after mid-day highlighted how a commuter had narrowly escaped injury aboard the rattling and broken Matsyagandha Express, the Southern Railway has now upgraded the entire train with high-end, brand-new Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) class coaches. Udupi MP Kota Srinivas Poojary felicitated the commuter for pushing for change.

Back in August 2024, passenger Chimay Kole was travelling on the train when ceiling panels in his coach's passageway collapsed, missing his head by mere inches. Quick reflexes saved him from harm. Following the incident, Kole had filed a complaint, stating, “For passenger safety, it is high time the Railways upgrade Matsyagandha Express with LHB coaches. The coach I was travelling in—B1 (WGACCN 156115)—was old and lacked maintenance.”