Railways wants to add a third side berth

gentoo

The AC-3 and sleeper coaches are being redesigned in Kapurthala coach factory to add a third side berth, where only two exist at the moment.

But where does the third side passenger sit during the day? The officer said that the three-plus-three passengers in the cabin will have to adjust this passenger. When told that this could lead to disputes among passengers, the officer said, "We will put a seat number which will compel them to adjust."

Times of India

jyotirmoy

Not a good idea at all. As such the side berths are smaller.

Bhaswaran

This is a bad decision by the railways They have lost their head for revenues. The sleeper classed are already conjested considering the length one passenger generally travels, 24-36 hours.

nomad

yup.
stupid idia

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steven_ber

I'm having trouble viewing the Times Of India article, so I'll explain what I'm hearing, hopefully someone will correct me if I'm wrong.

These new carriages are being built specifically for one type of train, the Garib Rath. (Poor man's carriage)

These carriages have been completely re-designed and from what I've read, are not as bad as people expected them to be with regard to the cramped conditions.

The aim of the Garib Rath is to make air con travel available to the 'poor man' (though this doesn't seem to be happening), Garib Rath trains have 3A (AC3) and Air con Chair Class (CC), both have increased accommodation over the standard 3A and CC carriages.

The Garib Rath's are supposed to run almost as fast as the Rajdhani Expresses, but I've noticed a few people saying this isn't happening.

The Garib Rath's seats/berths are priced at about a third cheaper than normal trains (hence 'poor mans carriage').

Garib Raths already run on the following routes: -

Nizamuddin (Delhi) - Chennai (once a week)

Nizamuddin - Bandra (Mumbai) (3 times a week)

Nizamuddin - Patna (3 times a week)

Amritsar - Saharsa (Bihar)(twice a week, and not via Delhi)

There are probably plans to increase the frequencies of the above trains.


Garib Raths are planned for the following routes: -

Secunderabad (Hyderabad) - Yesvantpur (Bangalore)(3 days a week)

Jaipur - Bandra (Mumbai via Ahmedabad) (3 days a week)

Kolkata - Patna (3 days a week)

Bhubaneswar - Ranchi (3 days a week)

Trivandrum - Lokmanya Tilak (Mumbai)(2 days a week, and I don't know if this train will take the Konkan route))

Kolkata - Guwahati (2 days a week)

New Delhi - Dehradun (3 days a week)

Raipur - Lucknow (2 days a week)


The following was said in the rail budget.....

"All the State capitals will be linked with Garib Rath trains."


A little look at fares......

I'll use the Delhi - Chennai route, 3-tier air con.

Train 2434, Rajdhani Exp, 28 hours and 10 minutes = Rs 2075

Train 2622, Tamil Nadu Exp, 32 hours and 40 minutes = Rs 1455

Train 2652, Sampark Kranti, 35 hours and 5 minutes = Rs 1455

Train 2612, Garib Rath Exp, 28 hours and 10 minutes = Rs 892


That's one hell of a saving.


Some photos from the IRFCA website....

Air con Chair Class.

3-tier air con, side berths, 1.

3-tier air con, side berths, 2.

3-tier air con diagram.

3-tier air con, daytime berth position.

I'll show the first 3-tier photo again, in a larger photo...

3-tier side berth, 3rd seat.

Look towards the bottom for the pull-out third seat. (though I think this may not be used).

I've read that the inside berth seats that normally seat 3 during the day, may now have to sit 4 persons on each (true), not the best solution, but on the bright side, it allows the other person in the side berth to put his feet up during the day.

I've also read that these carriages may also be built for ordinary trains, and that there are plans to convert existing carriages to this style, though I doubt this would be a good idea, it's OK when we have a choice, (the cheaper Garib Raths or the more expensive ordinary carriage), but different when there is no choice.


Just for a laugh......

The railways are considering new types of carriage for the Garib Raths, the following 2 carriages have been short listed....

Number one.

Number two.

The new carriages are also tested for the monsoon season......

Not all pass these tests.

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Train information.

Bhaswaran

Good info Steve....but I think there will be less comfort in the redesigned coaches. Lets see.

The last two pics you have posted were great Acutal Garib Raths.

shahronakm

"Nizamuddin - Bandra (Mumbai) (once a week)"

It's thrice a week as per indianrail.gov.in
Nizamuddin - Bandra (Wed, Fri, Sun)
Bandra - Nizamuddin (Tue, Thu, Sat)
Rates for Three tier sleeper are around Rs. 700 way below Rajdhani around Rs. 1500 or Paschim express around Rs. 1100.
Worth the money I feel.

Ronak.

SteamBuff

The time to worry is when they install beds and seats on the roof.

steven_ber

Thanks Ronak, I've edited my original post to avoid confusion, the Patna Garib Rath is also now 3 times a week.

steven_ber

A little look at fares......

I'll use the Delhi - Chennai route, 3-tier air con.

Train 2434, Rajdhani Exp, 28 hours and 10 minutes = Rs 2075

Train 2622, Tamil Nadu Exp, 32 hours and 40 minutes = Rs 1455

Train 2652, Sampark Kranti, 35 hours and 5 minutes = Rs 1455

Train 2612, Garib Rath Exp, 28 hours and 10 minutes = Rs 892


That's one hell of a saving.

(I'll edit this into my first post)

crvlvr

if they want to cram more passengers, the railways should learn from the arlines. Why bother with sleeping berths? Just cram people in like sardines on chairs/seats with little legroom. the railways used to also have double decker chair cars. Do they still have them?

rangss

How about outside...just by the window...or under the floor...by the bogies...

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SteamBuff

Under the floor is for the Monsoon season

crvlvr

And the front of the engine too, but then the ticket collector would have to go up and check the tickets..

Bhaswaran

But you must agree, the Rooftop Class will be the best bet on summer evenings. and also will be best for photographing countrysides