The Indian Railways, in order to provide better facilities to passengers, has come up with a big plan. The Railways is preparing to run mail and express trains at a speed of 130 km to 160 km per hour. These semi-high speed trains will not have Non-AC coaches i.e. sleepers and general coaches.
According to the Railways, old tracks are being renovated on several routes across the country, due to which trains can run on these tracks at high speed. Keeping in mind the upgradation of tracks, the railway is now preparing to run many high-speed trains
Although some trains are running at a speed of 130 kmph, the intention of the Railways is to increase the numbers and run mail and express trains across the country at high speeds. And in order to increase the speed of the trains, the coaches are also being upgraded.
Railways is planning to have AC coaches in high-speed Trains rather than normal sleepers and general coaches. For trains running at semi-high speeds, aerodynamic and AC coaches are extremely important. However, some trains will still continue to have sleeper and general coaches. The change will largely happen in semi-high speed trains.
According to the Ministry of Railways, special coaches are being prepared at Rail Coach Factory Kapurthala and are expected to be ready in the next few weeks. Trains in the first phase will run on the Delhi-Mumbai and Delhi-Howrah route. By next year, 200 more such coaches will be ready said the railway authorities.
It has been assured by the Railways that though such trains will not have sleeper coaches, the fare of such trains will be taken care of so that it is affordable for those who have been travelling in non-AC coaches.
The intention to run semi-high speed trains by the Railways is to cut travel time and avoid delays that the Indian Railways has always been infamous for. With the renovation of tracks, the Railways also intend to increase the speed of trains on general routes. However, travelling in these semi-high speed trains could be a little costly.
