India railways unveiled their plan of production of 10000 non-AC coaches before the end of the financial year 2025-26. The representatives of the railway mentioned that this large scale of expansion is necessary to improve the comfort of carriages and satisfy the growing interest in railway transportation.
Addressing Overcrowding with General Seating
Out of the new production coaches, over 50% will be for general seating, this is according to the CEO. This has been began with a lot of Regular travellers end up occupying booked AC coaches during rush hours which has resulted to sever interferences with the booked travellers bearing with inconvenience.
“The rolling stock plan for the next two years was sanctioned Thursday by the railway board…This two-year program will meet 17% of our current non-AC coach inventory” an official revealed, speaking on condition of anonymity.
Tailoring Train Compositions
The composition of passenger trains varies depending on the route and service type. Indian Railways, at present operates an approximate of 55,000 non-AC coaches that are spanned across 11,000 pairs of trains that aim to deliver according to the needs of the passengers. While some of these trains are fully air conditioned others include a mix of AC and non AC coaches.
Responding to Dynamic Demand
“The demand for rail service is dynamic. The coach production program is based on seasonal variations and passenger traffic growth,” a railway board official said. a railway board official explained. The plan involves the production of 3,500 general seating coaches, 2,060 three-tier sleeper coaches, and 18 coaches for the Amrit Bharat trains each fiscal year over the next two years.
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Rising Passenger Numbers and Overcrowding Concerns
This decision comes with regard to overcrowding situations and or during the busy season, to make or construct more non-AC coaches. Recall that in April, materials about unreserved passengers occupying AC coaches appeared on the Internet: this became the subject of political discussions and revealed the need for additional vast general compartments.
Union Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw earlier said that formation of the trains has remained intact, always 22 coaches in a train since getting the new generation LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) coaches.
Record-Breaking Passenger Journeys
According to railway data, passenger journeys reached a record high in April 2024, with 411 million trips recorded in the first three weeks alone. This surge in travel was attributed to summer vacations, the wedding season, and the general elections.
“There were 10,168 trains running per day before the Covid-19 pandemic hit the country. This increased to 10,748 last year. Currently, we have around 11,000 trains operating daily,” an official noted.
