Amid Row Over Lesser Seats, Railways Add 92 General Coaches In 46 Trains

In order to provide "convenience" to the general category passengers, Indian Railways has expanded the number of coaches in 46 important long-distance trains, by installing 92 new general category coaches in them, the Ministry of Railways said on Friday.

The trains in which coaches have been added include Bengaluru City Belagavi Superfast Express, Chennai Central Hubli Superfast Express, Mumbai Bengaluru Udayan Express, Mumbai Amravati Superfast Express Guwahati Lokmanya Tilak Express, Guwahati Jammu Tawi Express,

Further, 22 other trains have also been identified and a plan has been made to install additional general class coaches in them soon, the Ministry said.

The Ministry of Railways announced earlier this month that it has drawn up plans to manufacture another 10,000 non-AC coaches in 2024-25 and 2025-26 to cater to the increasing demand and enhance passenger comfort for the common man on its network.

A senior official unveiled the Ministry's plan of ramping up production to roll out 4,485 non-AC coaches in the ongoing financial year (2024-25) and another 5,444 of these in 2025-26.

In addition, the Railways plans to roll out more than 5300 general coaches, to significantly enhance the capacity of its rolling stock.

A senior official of Indian Railways elaborating on this ambitious plan said in the current fiscal year, Indian Railway is set to manufacture 2605 general coaches, which includes specialised Amrit Bharat general coaches designed to enhance passenger amenities.

Alongside these, 1470 non-AC sleeper coaches and 323 SLR (Sitting cum Luggage Rake) coaches, including the coaches of Amrit Bharat coaches, 32 high-capacity parcel vans and 55 pantry cars, would be manufactured to cater to diverse passenger needs and logistical requirements.

In fiscal year 2025-26, Indian Railways aims to further augment its fleet with 2710 general coaches, continuing the inclusion of Amrit Bharat general coaches known for their advanced features.

The production targets for this period also include 1910 non-AC sleeper coaches including Amrit Bharat general coaches and 514 SLR coaches including Amrit Bharat sleeper coaches.

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