Sources said the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala has been entrusted with the job of making the prototype of the upgraded Sleeper Class coach, which will have 83 berths instead of the current 72. Internally, the upgraded coach is being termed as “AC 3-tier Tourist Class”, an official said.

“It is like an affordable AC 3-tier Class,” said a senior official, adding that the idea is to make AC trains affordable for all.

In the first phase, about 230 such coaches are being manufactured. Each coach is estimated to cost about Rs 2.8-3 crore, which is about 10 per cent more than the manufacturing cost of the current AC 3-tier Class coach. However, with more berths and expected demand, the new ‘economical’ AC 3-tier Class is estimated to bring in more earnings.

The unreserved General Class coaches are also set to get an upgrade as a 100-seater AC Class. While the design for this is being finalised, officials working on the project told that the initial design had provision for 105 seats per coach.

The last time the government tried to roll out an economical AC 3-tier Class was during the UPA-I government (2004-09), when Lalu Prasad was the Railways Minister. Introduced in the Garib Rath Express trains as ‘AC Economy Class’, a side-middle berth was added to increase capacity and profitability. However, passengers complained of discomfort and overcrowding, and these coaches were eventually discontinued.
In the new ‘economical AC 3-tier Class’, more space has been created by shifting the electrical units, and by doing away with the compartments for storing linen sets.

As reported by The Indian Express earlier, the Railways has decided to stop distribution of blankets and linen sets in AC coaches, even post-Covid.

Sources said the idea behind the upgrade is to gradually move towards an all-AC model, although a formal decision on this is yet to be taken. Meanwhile, the existing stock of non-AC coaches will continue to operate, officials said. “Whether these will be phased out eventually is a call yet to be taken,” said an official.

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A. 00107/00108 Devlali-Muzaffarpur-Devlali Kisan Rail (Tri-weekly).

Train No. 00107 Kisan Rail will depart Devlali at 18.00 hrs as at present on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 8.9.2020 to 25.9.2020 and reach Muzaffarpur Jn. at 04.45 hrs on third day.

Train No. 00108 Kisan Rail will depart Muzaffarpur Jn at 08.00 hrs on every Thursday,Saturday and Monday from 10.09.2020 to 27.9.2020 and will arrive Manmad at 13.00 hrs on next day.

Halts: Nashik Road (only for 00107), Manmad, Jalgaon (only for 00107), Bhusaval, Burhanpur, Khandwa, Harda, Itarsi, Pipariya (for 00107 only), Gadarwara (for 00107 only), Narsinghpur (for 00107 only), Jabalpur, Katni, Satna, Manikpur, Prayagraj Chheoki, Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Jn, Buxar and Danapur.

Composition: This train will have 5 parcel vans from Devlali.

B. 00109/00110 Sangola-Manmad-Daund (Tri-weekly) Link Kisan Rail.

Train No. 00109 link Kisan Rail will depart Sangola at 08.00 hrs on every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday from 8.9.2020 to 25.9.2020 and reach Manmad at 18.30 hrs same day.

Train No. 00110 link Kisan Rail will depart Manmad at 14.00 hrs on every Friday, Sunday and Tuesday from 11.09.2020 to 28.09.2020 and arrive Daund at 18.15 hrs same day.

Halts: for 00109 – Pandharpur, Kurduwadi, Daund, Belvandi, Ahmednagar, Belapur, Kopergaon, for 00110 – Ahmednagar.

The loading of Kisan Rail on inaugural day (7.8.2020) was 90.92 tonnes, 99.91 tonnes on 14.8.2020; 235.44 tonnes on 21.8.2020. The frequency was increased as Bi-weekly from 25.8.2020 when loading was 273.74 tonnes; 277.64 tonnes on 28.8.2020 and 354.29 tonnes on 1.9.2020. Now, with increase in frequency, the trend of increase in loading is also expected to increase.

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“This is to bring to the notice of all concerned that as decided and informed earlier as well, regular passenger and suburban train services will continue to remain suspended till further notice,” a statement from the Railways said.

“It may be noted that 230 Special Trains, which are running at present, will continue to operate. Local trains in Mumbai, which are presently being run on limited basis only on the requisition of state government, will also continue to run,” it said.

The occupancy of special trains is being monitored on a regular basis and additional special trains may be run based on the requirement, the national carrier said.

However, all other regular trains and suburban trains run before the lockdown will remain suspended for the time being, it said.

All special trains — 12 pairs running on the Rajdhani routes since May 12 and 100 pairs operating since June 1 — will continue.

The limited special suburban services which began recently in Mumbai to ferry essential services personnel identified by the local authorities will also continue to run, officials said.

Earlier, the national transporter had suspended all services till August 12. With the suspension of passenger trains indefinitely, Indian Railways has estimated a loss of around Rs 40,000 crore in its passenger business for this fiscal.

The extension of the suspension comes at a time when active COVID-19 cases in India stand at 6,39,929, while 15,83,489 people have recovered, according to the Union Health Ministry. On Tuesday, a single day spike of 53,601 COVID-19 cases pushed India’s virus caseload to 22,68,675 with the death toll climbing to 45,257.

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Transportation of essential items like medical supplies, medical equipment, food, etc in small parcel sizes is going to be very important during the lockdown in the wake of COVID19. In order to fill in this vital need, Indian Railways has made railway parcel vans available for quick mass transportation across the nation for the needy E Commerce entities and other customers including State governments to transport such goods.

It may be noted that Ministry of Home Affairs has already removed the restrictions on movement of goods and commodities in the country during the lock down period. Provision of Parcel trains and rapid transportation of goods will further bolster the efficiency of supply chains. The decision to run Special Parcel Trains will help in movement of small quantities as well of essential items viz. Dairy Products, Medical Equipments and Medicines, Groceries, Edible oil and other necessary items etc.

Indian Railways is already transporting essential commodities to different parts of the country through freight trains. While these freight operations of Railways are meeting the needs of bulk transportation of essential goods like foodgrains, edible oil, salt, sugar, coal, cement, milk, vegetables & fruits etc, there are various items that need to be delivered in comparatively smaller quantities. After flights, Railways remain the fastest mode of inter state transportation for such goods .

Different Zones of Indian Railways are working out their own plans for running these Parcel Trains. They are reaching out prospective clients through various modes of communication including advertisements.
Total 8 Parcel specials Trains run by Railways since 22.03.2020. In addition, running of Parcel specials is further being planned on 20 routes.

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