The Hindu Business Line : Non-AC train coaches may be phased out

In an attempt to make the Indian Railways `world-class', the Railway Ministry may do away with non-AC sleeper class coaches in a phased manner starting with the long distance trains. This would be done by gradually replacing the sleeper class coaches by the air-conditioned (AC) coaches designed for Garib Rath trains.

The newly designed AC coaches can accommodate higher number of passengers as compared to the standard AC-III tier coaches. Moreover, to bring down the cost per passenger, the Railways is also looking at increasing the train lengths. "By converting a 17-coach train into a 24-coach train, while the revenues go up by 63 per cent due to additional seating capacity, the costs move up by 23 per cent," said the Railway Ministry sources.

GARIB RATH

For instance, each coach in standard AC III-tier can accommodate 64 sleeping berths while coaches designed for Garib Rath can accommodate 74 sleeping berths. In the chair car berth of standard AC train, 70 chairs can be accommodated, whereas Garib Rath would have 102 sitting berths. Thus, by moving more passengers per coach, the cost per unit can be brought down.

Similarly, if 24 coaches are used in a train instead of 17 coaches, a standard AC train can accommodate 1,228 passengers instead of 799 passengers. And if Garib Rath coaches are used, then a 17-coach train can accommodate 1,254 passengers, while a 24-coach train can accommodate 1,828 passengers.

Since the cost of moving a passenger to the low-cost AC-train would be much lower, the Railways hope to keep these fares at a fairly low level.

"Our attempt is to match the sleeper class rates for the low cost AC-trains. Though the rates may be marginally higher, we hope to get a feedback from passengers on whether they would be ready to pay somewhat higher tariffs for an AC comfort," said an official. Just like the former Railway Minister, Mr Madhu Dandavate, started the phasing out of non-AC Ist class coaches, Mr Lalu Prasad is looking at phasing out non-AC travel.

However, with Railways' annual coach production capacity hovering around 3,000 every year, and the Railways having a stock of about 45,000 coaches, the move it appears would have to be phased out over a long time.

More Stories on : Railways | Railways

Article E-Mail :: Comment :: Syndication :: Printer Friendly Page

Stories in this Section
Brewing `low' in Bay bears watching

NRI remittances: Banks told to cut charges

Nasscom plans tougher laws for data protection in BPOs

TRAI proposes hybrid model for allocating 3G spectrum

Mobile players back move to revoke Press Note 5

Maharashtra to go slow on land takeover for SEZs

Orissa inks MoUs for 10 thermal power plants

Rubber prices may dip to Rs 70-75 level

LIC micro-insurance scheme for the poor

Banking, auto, software stocks fuel rally

Cement stocks: Betting on Q2 nos

PVR Cinema ends marginally weak

RBI may extend Basel II deadline: Leeladhar

UWB seeks RBI clarification

Non-AC train coaches may be phased out