70 per cent coaches running on Indian Railways General and non-AC category: Ashwini Vaishnaw

In order to increase accommodation for passengers travelling in unreserved coaches, about 1,200 General Class coaches have been attached in the Mail and Express trains operating with LHB coaches made with German technology, during the current financial year, the minister said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha

New Delhi: Indian Railways is currently utilising 79,000 coaches for running train services for passengers of which 56,000 coaches, comprising 70 per cent of the total, are General and non-AC Sleeper category, Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed the Parliament on Friday.

In order to increase accommodation for passengers travelling in unreserved coaches, about 1,200 General Class coaches have been attached in the Mail and Express trains operating with LHB coaches made with German technology, during the current financial year, the minister said in a written reply to a question in the Rajya Sabha.

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In addition to various types of regular trains, Indian Railways also operates special train services during festivals and holidays to cater to the extra needs of passengers, the minister pointed out.

Keeping in view increased demand of the passengers travelling by non-AC coaches, Indian Railways has also planned to manufacture 17,000 General Class/Sleeper Class Coaches, he further stated.

Vaishnaw explained that to provide greater accommodation for the passengers using general and non-AC sleeper coaches, the extant policy regarding composition of Mail/Express trains provides for 12 General class & Sleeper class non-AC coaches and 8 AC-Coaches, in a train of 22 coaches, thereby providing greater accommodation for the passengers using General and non-AC Sleeper Coaches.

In addition to Mail/Express trains, Indian Railways also operate unreserved non-AC passenger trains / MEMU / EMU for affordable travel, he added.

He further stated that on Indian Railways, occupancy pattern of trains is not uniform throughout the year and it varies over lean and peak periods. During peak rush periods, the occupancy of the trains especially on popular routes remains full whereas during lean period and on less popular routes, there is sub-optimal utilisation.

Traffic pattern of the trains running on Indian Railways is monitored on regular basis and to cater to additional demand, load of existing trains is augmented, special trains are run, new trains are introduced, frequency of existing trains is increased, etc. subject to operational feasibility, he explained.

Indian Railways has also introduced modern state-of-the art fully non-AC Amrit Bharat trains. These trains have advanced features like semi-permanent couplers for jerk free travel, horizontal sliding windows, foldable snack tables and bottle holders and mobile holders. These trains comprise 12 Sleeper Class Coaches and 8 General Class coaches, the minister added.