Train travel set to be more enjoyable - Indian Railways to launch coaches with glass ceiling, aerial views

New Delhi: In yet another attempt to make train travel more enjoyable, the Indian Railways is coming up with modern, state-of-the-art coaches which will have a glass ceiling.

Each soon-to-be introduced coaches will also have an infotainment centre that will make the journey more enjoyable.

“The basic objective behind such a project is to promote tourism and woo upscale tourists from both India and abroad,” Dr AK Manocha, IRCTC Chairman and Managing Director, was quoted as saying in a report by the Indian Express on Tuesday.

The report added that the construction of the coaches, which started in 2015, are designed by the IRCTC, Research Designs and Standards Organisation (RDSO) and Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Perumbur.

The first such coach is all set to roll out this month (October) itself, Dham Ghaj Prasad, Group General Manager (Infrastructure), IRCTC was quoted saying.

Another three coaches will be rolled out in December this year, he added.

“The first coach will be tagged in a regular train in the Kashmir Valley while the other two will be part of some train careening through the picturesque Araku Valley (K K Line, Waltair station) on the South-Eastern Railway,” Manocha said.

Railways believe that introduction of trains with glass ceilings – already popular in western countries – will give a fillip to rail tourism in India.

Meanwhile, the Railways also plans to introduce trains having coaches with aerial view later.

A top Railways official said that the manufacturing cost of a single coach will come around Rs 4 crore and the coaches will be ultra luxurious with rotatable chairs to provide the passengers an aerial view through partly glass ceiling.