Even I had experienced when it ran as a special...I had boarded from Karmali in Oct 2014 towards Mumbai. Its was just 10% full. I went to ticket counter n the guy there said..Please directly board the train...TTE will come ..you can pay him...
Once TTE arrived...He handed over me the entire chart and said..Choose your seat n berth which is comfortable for you...
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more...
I finally chose CR as that coach had just 10 people throughout the journey...:)
Happy Journey to you ...