It's a pretty common feature even these days even though we may have thought that with passing time, conditions of travelling might change but it's the same sorry feature, maybe not always but sometimes it is.
There are certain trains where the authorities have given extra consideration (not with a gurantee though) but still comparatively it is better than the other running trains in terms of hygeine, running schedule, overcrowding etc.
Maybe certain sectors don't have the kind of trains which the local public wants and because of this they are forced...
more... to take such trains depending on their situation and with the kind of population which we have in India, it is bound to have these sights a pretty common feature.