Railways plans to link state capitals through 'Garib Raths'

Maintaining that the success of 'Garib Raths', the maiden scheme to provide plush rail services to the poor at affordable rates, would change its economics, the railway ministry plans to link all state capitals with such express trains. "The success of the four Garib Raths will dramatically change the whole economics of the Indian Railways. We plan to introduce 24-coach trains with 2,200-passenger capacity in place of those with 16 coaches seating 1,700," a top railway ministry official said.

Introduction of 24-coach trains with increased capacity will increase the economic health of the railways, with each Garib Rath earning a profit of Rs 20 lakh per trip, he said. The success of the Garib Raths, one already operating between Saharsa (Bihar) and Amritsar (Punjab), will also result in linking state capitals with these trains and enhance capital generation for the railways to the tune of at least 1,000 crore a year, he said.

"According to reports available, the Garib Rath is a superhit. It is going full during the festival season. We hope this trend will continue and, accordingly, we plan to link state capitals with these trains to attract lower middle class passengers," the official said. "Our strategy is to increase load per train per coach from 62 to 81 in AC classes and from 72 to 90 in general coaches," he said. To simplify the safety norms for launching or introducing new trains, railways is considering one-time sanctions for running 24-coach trains instead of the "train-specific permissions that exist today".

visit us @ http://www.silkrouteholidays.com