Trains versus planes: The race hots up as new factors come into play
In terms of comfort and luxury, train coaches are evolving into hotel suites. Recently, the Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala, showcased its newest creation, which has features that compete with business class of airlines. It has designed a new AC first class coach, an “interiors on demand” concept, which will be proposed to the Railway Board soon, TOI has reported. This type of coaches will make trains look luxurious and opulent as well as more confortable with their new-age technology while also providing amenities on demand on select routes. Just what the airlines are known for.
With such additions, the Indian Railways is raising the bar for train travel as well as throwing a challenge to low-cost airlines, especially on shorter routes. So far, India has rolled out 34 Vande Bharat trains and plans to roll out 75 more by March next year and 500 in the next three years to further improve the railways network, particularly for short-distance travel.
First Class AC versus airline business class
The latest addition being planned to the railways will put trains in the airline category. The design of the new AC First Class coach, a compact cubicle for two people, promises an experience of travel in business class of an airline. One can experience airline business class while travelling in a train..
Typically, the aisle space is usually on one side of an Indian Railways first AC coach, and the berths on the other. With the latest design, the aisle area has been shifted to the centre by RCF to accommodaite compact coupes that have two beds on either side of the coach and panoramic windows on both the upper and lower berths. As opposed to 24, the new AC first coach can hold 30 berths.
As part of this concept, two
