Trains will be introduced by the Indian Railways for lower-income populations, primarily manual labourers. According to a senior government official, “These are not special trains; rather, they are permanent trains that are intended to help the labour class passengers travel easily.” The official continued, “The service is anticipated to begin operations next year.”
The Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches on the trains will offer both sleeper and general class services, according to officials. The spokesman confirmed, “These trains will not have any air conditioning whatsoever.”
According to a second official, the national transporter had carried out research to determine the routes that carried passengers from the lower socioeconomic classes, Neha Tripathi of HT reported. Additionally, an increase in the number of passengers on the waiting list was observed. According to this study, trains in Bihar, Chattisgarh, Guwahati, Punjab, Madhya Pradesh, Odisha, and Assam have been chosen to offer more services to passengers who fall into the lowest income bracket.
The second official stated, “The Indian Railways has started the work on introducing these unique services for which they have added around 20,000km of new lines in the last nine months. The national transporter has not yet given them a name.
“Most artisans, labourers, unskilled labourers, and job seekers migrate to metros and other major cities from different states. At the moment, these passengers ride in common coaches connected to Mail/Express trains that are carrying at least twice as many passengers. The introduction of these trains will only make their lives easier, according to a railway board representative. The price of the tickets would not change. But no decision has yet been taken in this area,” the person continued.
The normal timetable will include these migrant special trains, which will include 22 to 26 coaches and let passengers make reservations in advance.
Additionally, it has been decided that in the network for the next five to seven years, there will only be two types of coaches (out of a total of 28 varieties). “In the next five years, the railroads will only have LHB and Vande Bharat carriages. The official added that the other coaches will be phased out at the end of their useful lives or would be converted for other uses. “The phasing out of the Integrated Coach Factory (ICF) will be done within the next three years,” the official stated.
Source- Travel biz
Link- https://travelbizmonitor.com/railways-to-likely-introduce-special-trains-for-lower-income-groups-next-year/
