New Delhi: Indian Railways will this month unveil modern coaches equipped with automatic sliding doors and electro-pneumatically assisted brake system to assist in operating at 200 km/h speed.
Manufactured at the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) in Kapurthala, the first consignment of four high speed coaches - two AC chair cars and two Executive Class carriages — are being readied for travel to Delhi before March, a senior Railway Ministry official said.
Each coach is estimated to cost about Rs 32.5 million (Dh1.75 million) as against the Rs 20.5 million for the normal coach.
The official said the coaches are equipped with latest technology such as stainless steel brake disc, sintered pads and electro-pneumatically assisted brake system to run at a higher speed.
Besides, the entrance will have automatically sliding doors like Metro coaches and better dust, sound and heat insulation system.
He said the third major modification in these coaches involves improved and wider inter-car vestibule area between the coaches, which will help reduce dirt and water ingress besides reducing noise level.
A total of 20 coaches will be manufactured at RCF out of which four are almost ready and the rest will be delivered in June this year as announced by Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu in his last budget.
The new initiative involves manufacturing a rake of 20 coaches, which comprises 14 AC chair cars, 3 Executive Chair cars and 3 Power cars.
Other features include improved passenger safety and comfort. The coaches will have aesthetically pleasant interiors with spacious and ergonomically designed seats. There will be provision of personal infotainment system also.
Each coach will have fire retardant furnishing and fire and smoke detection alarms.
The lavatories with redesigned interior will be equipped with vacuum evacuation assisted toilets, touchless taps, hand dryers and soap dispensers besides marble finish and anti-graffiti coating on walls.
The coaches have been developed in association with the National Institute of Design, Ahmedabad.
