New Delhi, Aug 24: Passengers to Jaipur can now take a ride on AC double-decker train with Railways today flagging off the service heralding a new era in passenger transportation.
The train will run between Delhi's Sarai Rohilla and Jaipur and carry 120 passengers in a coach as compared to about 80 passengers in a conventional coach. A ticket will cost Rs 347.
The train will leave from here at 5.35 PM and arrive in the Pink city at 10.05 PM the same day.
In the return direction, commencing regular services from August 25, the Jaipur-Delhi Sarai Rohilla Double Decker AC will depart from Jaipur daily at 6 AM to reach Delhi Sarai Rohilla at 10.30 AM the same day.
Comprising eight AC chair car coaches and two power cars, the double-decker AC train services will stop for 2 minutes each at Delhi Cantt., Gurgaon and Gandhi Nagar, Jaipur stations enroute in both directions.
Railway Minister Mukul Roy flagged off the train at a function here which was attended by Delhi Chief Minister Shiela Dikshit and a host of other political leaders and senior railway officials.
In all, railways proposes to introduce five AC double-decker trains across the country, the first of which started running last year between Howrah and Dhanbad. Mumbai-Ahmedabad is next in the line to have a doble-decker train.
The 4.36-metre height and 3.25-metre width double-decker coach has been designed by the Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala.
Congratulating the railway staff of RCF for their ingenuity in designing the coach, Roy announced a group award of Rs 5 lakh to the unit at Kapurthala.
The coaches are made of stainless steel thus reducing the weight of the coaches which in turn has resulted in lesser fuel requirement for hauling the train.
In keeping with the safety of services, the coaches are designed with anti-climbing technology and have crash-worthy shells.
