Indian Railways News

[pmaitra]

New Double Decker Coach for Indian Railways

RCF rolls out air-conditioned double decker rakes

17 OCT, 2010, 02.33AM IST, Economic Times BUREAU

CHANDIGARH: Rail Coach Factory(RCF), Kapurthala rolled out Indian Railways' first air-conditioned double decker rake , comprising 10 coaches (8 double deckers and 2 power cars). This rake has been offered to Eastern Railway/ Kolkata for running between Howrah and Dhanbad.

These stainless steel coaches have been introduced to cater to the heavy rush of commuters in high density corridors offering AC travel at a lower cost.

"These new design coaches are capable to run at a speed of 160 kmph. The passenger carrying capacity has increased to 128 passenger in comparison to 78 passengers in Shatabdi chair car, thus increasing the capacity by almost 70%. Since this design has substantially lower tare weight per passenger, these coaches will be more energy efficient," said RCF, general manager Pradeep Kumar.

RCF, in association with RDSO/ Lucknow, finalised the design of double decker coaches and the first prototype of this type was rolled out for oscillation trials within a record time of 9 months on March 31, 2010

The overall height of double decker coach has been increased marginally by 116 mm (four and a half inches) keeping in view the constraints like overhead structures, bridges, electric traction equipment, platforms etc. so that these coaches can be used without modifying any of the fixed structures except for clearing some minor infringements.

Space for the two decks has been generated by optimally using the well space between the two bogies. The End-On-Generation configuration has been used for train lighting and air-conditioning, in which power is supplied by two power cars, attached at both ends of the train.

The new air-conditioned double decker coaches have many superior technical features like aesthetically pleasing stainless steel body, high speed Y-Frame bogies with air springs suspension for superior ride quality and many other safety related features. The chairs have been provided in face to face format, so that passengers can enjoy traveling with their families. For better safety, fire retardant upholstery has been used in chairs.

These coaches are clear illustration of Indian Railways' capabilities in design and manufacturing of new types of rolling stock.

Source: http://economictimes.indiatimes.com...d-double-decker-rakes/articleshow/6761677.cms

Compare the following pictures of the new AC and the old non-AC coaches respectively (click to enlarge):


Times of India report:

 

[The Messiah]

IF run efficiently without any corruption then Indian railways could becomes the worlds most profitable organization.

But no we will always stay like dirt! Its high time we upgraded our trains.

 

[thakur_ritesh]

looking at the interiors of that train i have been pretty disappointed, if they had to do an all ac and something absolutely new it should have been of certain quality even if not world class, not what they have come up with.

 

[Ray]

Upgrade the tracks and safety features is the crying need.

More security for the passengers, especially when travelling through the badlands of Bihar.

 

[pmaitra]

IF run efficiently without any corruption then Indian railways could becomes the worlds most profitable organization.

But no we will always stay like dirt! Its high time we upgraded our trains.

It is very true we did so. However, the question is are we willing to pay more for a trip? Traveling from Churchgate to Fort in Mumbai cost between Rs. 13 and Rs. 15 in a taxi (2007), yet travelling from Bhubaneswar to Howrah cost a meagre Rs. 60 (approx 2007) in non-AC chain car.

Are we really doing justice to our Railways? Doesn't IR deserve to be treated with some more honesty by the passengers themselves?

looking at the interiors of that train i have been pretty disappointed, if they had to do an all ac and something absolutely new it should have been of certain quality even if not world class, not what they have come up with.

Interiors could have been much better. The finishing has been a bit shoddy.

Interiors could have been outsourced to some private agency, but again, that does not guarantee good workmanship because my experience with private caterers in the Railways has been worse than the service of government caterers.

Now let us see the exterior. One can see that there are bumps and dents on the metal sheets that make up the body of the coach. This simply means that the micro-crystalline structure inside the sheet metal are not uniformly formed i.e., the sheets were pressed and then some parts solidified faster than other parts; and perhaps the thickness of the sheets wasn't good enough. It is not that we cannot make excellent alloys. The SAIL steel plant in Rourkela makes alloys and sheets for the Indian Space Launch Vehicles.

Overall, however, RDSO did an excellent job.

Upgrade the tracks and safety features is the crying need.

More security for the passengers, especially when travelling through the badlands of Bihar.

That is so true. We have locomotives that are capable of speeds of more than 200 kmph, but only if they had tracks to handle such speeds. Our tracks need improvement and so does safety.

We have to isolate some of our premier trains and restrict them to stop only a certain stations and at designated platforms that are sanitised from the outside world. Also, to improve throughput, the number of stops must be reduced substantially and for the few stops, airport like security must be ensured. It isn't too difficult, except for the vote-bank and populist politics than overrides simple logic and common-sense.

 

[hit&run]

not bad, small space to go up/down stairs
Heaps can be learnt from Sydney trains


old style DD

 

[tarunraju]

looking at the interiors of that train i have been pretty disappointed, if they had to do an all ac and something absolutely new it should have been of certain quality even if not world class, not what they have come up with.

There are going to be several classes of these coaches, this is the entry-level with 3x3 seating. An upper class has 3x2 seating (broader seats, more lavish upholstery and accessories for the passengers), and an even upper class with airline business-class seating on the top deck. RCF will use the same coach shell platform to design luxurious sleeper coaches like what Amtrak offers in the US.

 

[neo29]

Irrespective of all these improvements, the food will be still bad and bathroom filthy. Railways must employ the policy of cleanliness before starting new trains or else the results will be the same.

 

[pmaitra]

Older News (after prototype design and before certification)

Indian Double Decker Trains

The Kapurthalas Rail Coach Factory (RCF), rolled out the country's first air conditioned double-decker coach for oscillation trials on the Delhi-Muradabad section.

RCF will start manufacturing the coaches after successful completion of oscillation trials.

These futuristic high-speed stainless steel AC coaches would be introduced to cater to the heavy rush of commuters in high density corridors offering AC travel at a low cost.

The first double decker train would be seen running on track by end of this year. The new coach with pleasing green-yellow colour scheme has all the features and the comforts of a Shatabdi coach.
A totally new coach shell design capable of running at a speed of 160 kmph was developed by RCF engineers in tandem with Research Design and Standard Organisation (RDSO) within a short span of just nine months.

In the new design, 128 passengers can be seated as compared with 78 passengers in Shatabdi chair cars, thus increasing the capacity by almost 70 per cent.

The overall height of a double decker coach has been increased marginally (four and a half inches) keeping in view the constraints like overhead structures, bridges, electric traction equipment, platforms etc, so that these coaches can be used without modifying any of the fixed structures except for clearing some minor infringements.

Space for the two decks has been generated by optimally using the well space between the two bogies.

To save upon space, it was decided to use End-On-Generation configuration where power for train lighting and air-conditioning is supplied by two power cars, attached at both ends of the train.

Read more: http://www-irctc.blogspot.com/2010/04/indian-double-decker-trains.html#ixzz12ogm6m9S
Under Creative Commons License: Attribution

Some pictures (click to enlarge):


Reports on the pre-certification prototype:

 

[nitesh]

noob question

Can we have 2 tier sleeper facility in these coaches for long distance trains. Should be able to reduce AC fair

 

[pmaitra]

noob question

Can we have 2 tier sleeper facility in these coaches for long distance trains. Should be able to reduce AC fair

Sure, why not? The only caveat is that passengers will end their journey with sprains and arthritis. Sardinisation of passengers started long time back with 3-tier arrangement.

That apart, I'd like to know from the members which livery looks better, TMC-style or CPI(M)-style? Comparison below (click to enlarge):

 

[ajtr]

I think i ve seen no-Ac sleeper double decker coaches in and around 2006 on central railways route between gwalior to bhopal. and it was GT or i think swarn jayanti express which travels from delhi to south.

 

[nitesh]

Sure, why not? The only caveat is that passengers will end their journey with sprains and arthritis. Sardinisation of passengers started long time back with 3-tier arrangement.

Don't know but it seems quite decent spacing to me, I feel that should be possible without putting strains on passengers

 

[tarunraju]

Sure, why not? The only caveat is that passengers will end their journey with sprains and arthritis. Sardinisation of passengers started long time back with 3-tier arrangement.

That apart, I'd like to know from the members which livery looks better, TMC-style or CPI(M)-style? Comparison below (click to enlarge):
View attachment 1872 View attachment 1873

The Green+Cream livery is for Garib Rath trains, while the other one is for Jan-Shatabdi trains.

 

[pmaitra]

I think i ve seen no-Ac sleeper double decker coaches in and around 2006 on central railways route between gwalior to bhopal. and it was GT or i think swarn jayanti express which travels from delhi to south.

I have seen my first double decker coach at Bandel Station (WB). It was in the Black Diamond Express.

The photograph I uploaded in the very first post (blue livery) was taken at Borivali Station (Mumbai) by me. It was the Flying Rani.

The one I traveled in was from Borivali to Valsad and it was, if I am not mistaken, the Mumbai-Surat Fast passenger.

All the other photos are eclectic.

 

[pmaitra]

Don't know but it seems quite decent spacing to me, I feel that should be possible without putting strains on passengers

You're right, the spacing is decent. However, sleeper coaches will be useful for long distance travel and in that case there will not be enough space for luggage. However, RDSO is known for pulling off seemingly impossible tasks. Personally, I hate traveling in 3-tier because it's too cramped up (2-tier in double decker will be cramped up too); but hey, if there are passengers who are willing to travel like that, why not?

 

[tarunraju]

Credit: IRFCA

 

[pmaitra]

Double Decker Liveries

I would also like to show you some really interesting liveries suggested by this highly creative and 'skilled-in-photoshop' gentleman called Mr. Subhash Rao of Dombivili. I'd like to share these images with our members, with the courtesy of Tushar Dhake and IRFCA.

The first three are the original (AC and non-AC), the following two are photo-shopped versions (of the AC) (click to enlarge):


Which one do you like the best?

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...w-tech-to-save-energy/articleshow/7108262.cms

Railways to use new tech to save energy
Kumod Verma, TNN, Dec 16, 2010, 02.18am IST

PATNA: In a major policy decision, the railways has decided to introduce a new renewable energy technology to save energy cost at the country level. During the trial period the new technology has proved successful.

According to a Railway Board official, the new technology has helped electric and diesel locomotives to save energy. "About 350 new locomotives have been put into service of new technology at the country level saving about eight to 10 per cent energy," he said.

The Board official said that the railways has recently erected a 10.5 mw wind turbine at its coach building factory in Tamil Nadu. It has helped the railways, in particular, to save about 45 per cent energy consumed by both electric and diesel locomotives. Besides, installation of energy saving devices in diesel run locomotives has also resulted in saving of about 20 per cent energy, he said.

According to a Board official, the recent introduction of regenerative braking facility which has been implemented in all sub-urban trains in Mumbai, has been able to save energy worth about Rs 1.3 crore per rake (each train) annually. The railways has been saving about 25 per cent to 30 per cent expenditure on energy consumption by way of implementation of the braking system, he said.

That apart, the railways has proposed to set up four new biodiesel plants at different places in the country. The purpose of these plants is to enable the railways to fulfil increasing needs of biodiesel. The railways would need about 10 per cent biodiesel to be mixed with diesel for use in locomotives, sources said.

The railways intends to set up first two plants by the end of 2012-2013 at a cost of Rs 79 crore in Gujarat and Rajasthan. The railways had inked a pact with the IOC in 2003. Unfortunately, it could not make a headway till now. However, the railways has taken up the project seriously to expedite its completion during 2012-2013, sources said.

 

[Pintu]

http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/...t-numbers-from-Dec-20/articleshow/7101590.cms

Trains to have 5-digit numbers from Dec 20
Kumod Verma, TNN, Dec 14, 2010, 11.08pm IST

PATNA: In an important decision, the railways has decided to implement five digit numbers for mail and express trains from December 20 at the national level.

The decision has been taken to keep a tab on the movement of all passenger trains as well as streamlining their movement through computerized control centre located at the Railway Board control room in New Delhi.

According to a Railway Board official, digit 1 will be prefixed to the existing numbers of all mail and express trains while the remaining four digits will remain unchanged.

For instance, 2742 Patna Vasco-de-Gama Express will be known as 12742. Similarly, 2296 Patna-Bangalore Sanghmitra Express will have the number 12296, he said, adding the new five-digit numbers will help railways to monitor traffic movement easily through the centralized control system in every zone of railways.

Railways has also decided to prefix digit 5, 6 or 7 to the numbers of conventional trains including MEMUs and DEMUs. Digit 0 has been prefixed to the numbers of all special trains running across the country, the official said.

Besides, digit 3 will be prefixed to the existing numbers of all suburban passenger trains running in Kolkata while digit 9 will be prefixed to the numbers of suburban trains running in Mumbai. Suburban trains running in other parts of the country will have a common digit 4 before the existing numbers, the board official said.

According to another board official, Indian Railways runs about 11000 passenger trains every day across the country. Smooth running of these trains could be possible only when the board keeps a close watch on their movement. The new five-digit number system is likely to help railways maintain a close watch on traffic at a time when passengers are suffering either due to late running of trains or miscreants' activities, he said.

According to sources, railways has introduced rare software applications while implementing five-digit numbers for all passenger trains. During a short trial, the new system has yielded good results in every zone of the railways, sources said.

According to Danapur rail division PRO R K Singh, East Central Railway (ECR) is fully prepared to implement five-digit numbers from December 20. Railways would continue to make announcements at important stations about change in number of passenger trains from December 20 for the benefit of passengers, he said.