Indian Railways is planning to upgrade its Superfast and mail Express trains under project Utkrisht. Project Utkrisht will be inspired from Operation Swarn – which involves upgrading Shatabdi and Rajdhani Express trains.
"We want to provide amenities to passengers which they would enjoy only in trains like Rajdhani and Shatabdi. We have included these 140 rakes under 'Project Utkrisht'," said R Gupta, Member Rolling Stock, Railway Board.
Gupta is top boss who decides on rakes and locomotives which operate on Indian Railways.
"By June, we will start uploading Google sheet that shall be directly monitored by the Railway Board. All the 140 rakes will be refurbished at a cost of Rs 60 lakh each by March 2019," a senior railway official told DNA.
Sources said that as per the plans drawn by Railway Board; there would be modifications that will include vinyl wrapping of the coaches, equipping coaches with fire extinguishers, information posters, braille signage, changing of the torn seats, compressed cushioned seats, dustbins inside coaches and adequate maintenance along with inspection in every two hours for on-board cleanliness inside the train.
The railways are already replacing the coaches of long distance trains with LHB ones from those manufactured at Integral Coach Factory. These LHB coaches are the ones which are attached in Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains.
"The modification of both the trains will begin soon. Deccan Queen will be ready by August 15," said a senior CR official. Modification work on the LTT-Madgaon double decker express will be completed by December 2018.
Following are the new modifications which Railways will introduced to the trains.
On Board cleanliness:
GPS tagged attendance of staff
Cleaning of toilets every two hours
Garbage bag in dustbins and its regular cleaning
Coach interiors:
Single colour rexine for seats and torn ones to be replaced
Toilet indication to be provided in AC coaches
Good curtains and fire extinguishers inside coaches
Toilets:
Proper ventilation and auto janitor inside to avoid foul odour
Improved flushing valves
LED lights inside
