New Delhi, February 11: Indian Railways has introduced its first air conditioned three-tier economy class coach. The Railway Ministry has said it can be considered the cheapest and best air conditioned travel facility in the world.
The new coach is a Linke Hofmann Busch – better known as LHB – coach. It is a product of the Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala. The designing work began in October 2020, and the Railway Ministry has said that the coach design was provided innovations of many sorts before being sent to the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), Lucknow, for the upcoming trial.
The number of berths has been increased from 72 to 83, thereby increasing the number of passengers that the coach can carry.
The high voltage electric switch gear has been installed below the under frame, which has made it possible to increase the number of berths.
Every such coach has a wider and one disabled friendly toilet entry.
The air conditioned ducting has been redesigned to provide individual vents for each berth.
There is a modular design of the seats and berths. The snack tables are foldable in both longitudinal and transverse bays. There are injury-free spaces and holders to keep water bottles, mobile phones and magazines.
Each berth has been provided individual reading lights and mobile charging points as well as standard sockets.
A new ergonomically improved design has been provided for the ladder to access the middle and upper berths. The headroom for the middle and upper berths too has been increased.
The new coach has improved design for the Indian and Western style lavatories. The public address system as well as the passenger information system has been installed as improved passenger facilities.
The Ministry has said that the ambience and ease of access to the coaches have been improved. The coach interiors have luminescent aisle markers and illuminated berth indicators that are integral with the night lights and luminescent berth numbers.
It has also said that the fire safety facilities have been improved. Compliance to the world benchmark of EN45545-2 HL3 for materials has been ensured, which is a high requirement for the new fire protection standard.
The Rail Coach Factory plans to produce 248 such coaches in the current and next fiscal, and production will be taken up in February itself, it said.
