Railway Rules: This is very useful news for those traveling by Garib Rath train. Otherwise you may face trouble while booking reservation. From next month if passengers do not get the option of AC Chair Car and Second AC while booking reservation for travel in these trains, then do not be surprised. Indian Railways is going to make changes in the coach of Garib Rath.
According to the Railway Ministry, currently 26 Garib Rath trains are being run, covering about 52 routes. Some of these run weekly, some run two, three and four times a week. The fare of these trains is less than the third AC and chair car of normal trains. The fare of Garib Rath coaches is likely to be kept about 8 to 10 percent less than the fare of Economy AC Third.
These trains were introduced during the tenure of former Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav. It has been decided to replace their old coaches with LHB coaches, which will be replaced with newly designed economy AC coaches. AC economy coaches are being produced at Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala, Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, Modern Coach Factory in Raebareli.
According to the Railway Ministry, the coaches of Garib Rath are about 18 years old. They were introduced in 2006. Since then, many changes have been made in the coaches keeping in mind the convenience of the passengers, but the passengers traveling in these trains are not getting the facilities. Due to this, a decision has been taken to upgrade them.
According to the Railway Ministry, the old coaches include second AC, third AC and chair car. The new Garib Rath will have only third AC coaches. That means there will be no second AC and chair car. Since booking starts 120 days in advance, it is likely that booking of second AC and chair car will be stopped in Garib Rath from next month. Since a large number of coaches will be needed for this change, the options of second AC and chair car will be gradually discontinued.
The AC economy will have 81 seats, while the old coach had 72 berths. Fireproof material will be used in the berths. Apart from this, all the berths will have handles for hanging bottles, foldable snack tables, modern toilets and reading lights as well as USB charging points.