Indian railways are working on a plan to upgrade all their trains capable of running at a maximum speed of 130 km / h and more with special air-conditioned wagons in a bid to improve their high-speed network, the Ministry of Railways said on Sunday. .
There will be no sleeping cars on these identified trains. The ministry clarified that the decision will only affect high-speed trains and that all existing postal and express trains with a maximum speed of up to 110 km / h will continue to operate with sleeper wagons.
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“Air-conditioned coaches become a technical necessity wherever the train speed exceeds 130 km / h. Indian Railways is working on a massive plan to upgrade the rail network to high-speed potential. The tracks in the golden ring and diagonals are being improved to accommodate a speed of 130 km to 160 km / hour. Non-air-conditioned sleeping cars will be replaced by air-conditioned cars only for those trains that will run at a maximum speed of 130/160 km / h. The speed potential of some of the riders has already been improved to 130 km / h. Wind and weather factors require that only certain types of coaches run faster, ”said a spokesman for the Ministry of Railways.
At present, most postal and express trains have a maximum speed of 110 km / h. Premium trains such as Rajdhanis, Shatabdis and Durontos can operate at 120 km / h in significant parts of the Golden Quadrilateral and Diagonals. The rakes of these trains are able to operate at 130 km / h or more.
The officials added that these new AC coaches will be “economy coaches” similar to the AC-3 chair coaches on Humsafar trains that have a streamlined fare structure. “It will be ensured that while the ticket prices for modified air-conditioned coaches remain very affordable for passengers, comfort and convenience are increased and there is a substantial reduction in travel time,” the spokesperson said.
A prototype of the new AC coach is being built at the rail production unit at Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, and should be ready in a few weeks. Compared to the 72 berths in a sleeper coach, this new AC coach will have 83 berths, but the number of berths in a coupe will remain the same, as there will be no intermediate berths between the upper side and lower side berths. The coaches are being redesigned by moving the electrical units and removing the space reserved for storing blankets and sheets, since Railways will stop providing them due to coronavirus.
“An 83-berth coach is currently being designed. Railways has planned 100 of these coaches this year and 200 next year. The coaches will be tested and evaluated, ”said the spokesperson.
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