Two new air-conditioned double-decker services are to be launched on the Mumbai-Ahmedabad and Delhi-Jaipur routes.
Indian Railways has announced the additional services on the back of the success of the Howrah-Dhanbad express – the country’s first double-decker train, which connects West Bengal with Jharkand.
The train, which will have an operational speed of 110 kmph, with a maximum speed limit of 160 kmph, will feature 10 coaches, including eight double-deckers and two generator cars.
The service will be able to accommodate 120 seats, compared to the normal 78.
A railways official said: “We have got the safety certification from the Commissioner Railway Safety (CRS) after meeting all requirements in the due process and soon the services will start.”
The new services were scheduled for 2011-12, but the project was delayed because of problems acquiring safety clearance and manufacturing of the double-decker coaches.
“The operations date is not fixed, yet, but very soon we will start the service,” a Western Railway (WR) official told Rail.co.
WR will be operating Mumbai-Ahmedabad AC train and Northern Railway will be operating Delhi-Jaipur service.
The coaches run on Eurofima design FIAT bogie and have stainless steel body to minimise corrosion, and are equipped with fully automatic doors, fire extinguishers and eight emergency escape windows.
The new coaches have been developed and built by the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) of Kapurthala, in association with the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), of Lucknow, an R&D body under Indian Railway Ministry.
