Indian Railways to roll out first batch of AC 3-tier economy coaches this month

The Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala has started manufacturing air-conditioned three-tier economy class coaches. According to a senior official, the coaches are capable of running at an optimum speed of 160 kilometres per hour.

The production of the AC 3-tier economy class coaches began after successful oscillation trials conducted on the Nagda-Kota-Sawai Madhopur section at a speed of 180 kmph.

The Punjab-based coach manufacturing unit of the Indian Railways rolled out the first prototype economy class air-conditioned three-tier coach on February 10. It later handed it over to the Research Development and Standard Organisation (RDSO) for its trials.

After three weeks of aggressive trials, the RDSO has found it successful, RCF General Manager Ravinder Gupta said. He added that they have received an order of manufacturing 248 such coaches. The RCF, Kapurthala will roll out 50 coaches by the end of March, and the remaining would be manufactured during the next financial year.

To overcome the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, RCF engineers have been working to make the coaches virus-free by making changes in the air filtration system. In the newly designed AC 3-tier economy class coaches, there will be individual AC vents for each berth, an ergonomically designed ladder for accessing the middle and upper berths, etc.

Moreover, the train coaches will also have a new design for both Indian and western-style lavatories. Each coach will also provide a wider and one disabled-friendly toilet entry door.

Additionally, the passenger berth capacity of the newly designed air-conditioned three-tier economy class coaches has been increased from 72 to 83.Also read: Oreo-maker takes Parle to court over alleged infringement of design

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