I had to make a couple of round trips to mumbai on the train and here are my observations.
1. Coaches are old- more than 10 years. Staff try their best to clean them and came 2-3 times during the journey- but there is a limit of what you can achieve
2. Washrooms- As with all retrofitted bio-toilets- stinky and clogged. I can understand bio-toilets in LHB but old ICF coaches makes no sense. There were no hand-sanitizers or spray in half the toilets.
3....
more... Comfort- The side middle berth means that they are pretty much unusable for averagely tall people. Main berths are okay though not great. ICF coaches vibrate and jerk a lot. Thank god these don't have CBC couplers else the journey would have been intolerable
4. Food- Limited in scope but good- especially the Veg Thali (Rs 120). The catering staff is polite.
5. Speed- Very good- Consistently touches 100+ and not many unscheduled stops. Good for railfanning
6. Punctuality- Good. Reached within 30 minutes of scheduled time on all occasions. That maybe because of the slack.
7. Safety- Good- Each coach has attendant and RPF also takes rounds during night
8. Value for money- Unmatched- Garib Rath's are bang for the buck- especially in summers and for smaller journeys. IR should reconsider closing this service.
Hope this review helps future travelers in planning their journey.