Better coaches, automatic doors, better food, more comfort: Railways plans to run trains like low-cost airlines

economictimes.indiatimes.com:

Indian Railways is planning to launch regular non-AC long-distance trains connecting major cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Surat, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Chennai, and parts of Punjab. As per ToI report, the railways plans to start the train services before the next Lok Sabha election. The selection of these routes has been carefully determined by analyzing waitlisted ticket data and assessing the origin-destination patterns of high passenger volumes.

An official told ToI that the railways have considerably expanded their capacity to run more trains, having laid nearly 20,000 km of new tracks in the past nine years. The selected routes correspond to areas that witness significant migration of the workforce to employment centers. These same routes were used during the Covid-19 pandemic to run special Shramik Express trains, assisting in the repatriation of migrant workers back to their home states.

Apart from increasing train services, the railway authorities told ToI that they are also planning to enhancing passenger comfort and safety. The plan involves replacing the remaining 20,000-odd old Integral Coach Factory (ICF) coaches with Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches, which are considered safer. Furthermore, within the next 4-5 years, all coaches will be equipped with «plug doors» that will prevent accidents by ensuring the trains do not start unless the doors are securely shut.

This fail-safe system will automatically open the doors in case of emergencies. To further streamline operations and manage maintenance costs, the railway network will reduce the variety of passenger coaches from the current 28 to just two types: LHB and Vande Bharat coaches. By adopting this approach, the Indian Railways aims to achieve the same level