UNRESERVED CLASS ANTYODAYA EXPRESS SET TO ROLL OUT SOON BY INDIAN RAILWAYS

UNRESERVED CLASS ANTYODAYA EXPRESS SET TO ROLL OUT SOON BY INDIAN RAILWAYS

Antyodaya Express, an Indian Railways train for the unreserved class, that was announced by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu, is all set to be ready by September-end.

Antyodaya Express, an Indian Railways train for the unreserved class, that was announced by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu during his Rail Budget speech this year, is all set to be ready by September-end. Five Antyodaya rakes are likely to be introduced in the current year. ICF (Integral Coach Factory) has finalised the design of the train, and it will soon start manufacturing the train’s coaches. An ICF official told FE Online that the Antyodaya Express coaches will be a modification of LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) type, ie. they will boast of a stainless body. Antyodaya Express was one of the five new trains proposed by Suresh Prabhu in his Rail Budget. For the unreserved passengers, he had talked of two types of new trains and coaches, Antyodaya Express and Deen Dayalu coaches.

ICF has already rolled out a Deen Dayalu coach and it will soon start plying on high-density routes. According to the ICF official that FE Online spoke to, Antyodaya will have the same facilities as a Deen Dayalu coach. The only difference between Deen Dayalu and Antyodaya is that the coaches in the latter will be joined together. “So while Deen Dayalu is manufactured on a single coach basis that can be fitted in any train, Antyodaya is a whole train only for unreserved passengers,” the ICF official said.

Just like Deen Dayalu coaches, which are non-AC, Antyodaya will also have more comfortable seats compared to others in the general class category. All new facilities that have been introduced in the Deen Dayalu coaches, such as aqua-guard for drinking water, toilet occupation indication display boards, bio-toilets, fire extinguishers with anti-theft arrangement, cushioned luggage racks with coat hooks, LED lights, more mobile charging points and enhanced capacity dustbins, will also be seen in Antyodaya Express. Additionally in case of Antyodaya Express, for the first time Indian Railways will try out operations with locomotives at both ends. This the Railways says will ensure faster acceleration and deceleration and help in expeditious turnaround at terminals.

Also check images: Deen Dayalu unreserved coaches: 10 modern facilities

The other trains that Suresh Prabhu has promised are Humsafar, Tejas and UDAY (Utkrisht Double-Decker Air-conditioned Yatri). While Humsafar is a fully air-conditioned three-tier service, Tejas will operate at speeds of 130 kmph and above and will boast of 22 new features such as entertainment, local cuisine, Wi-Fi. UDAY will be introduced as an overnight double-decker train on the on the busiest routes.

Source:Financial Express