Double-decker air-conditioned trains are all set to chug from Kacheguda here to Tirupati and Guntur twice a week soon after getting green signal from the commissioner of railway safety (CRS).
The fare from Hyderabad to Tirupati by double decker would be Rs 720 and to Guntur Rs 415. The coaches are manufactured using the latest technology and offer a host of modern facilities.
Each rake is equipped with a Very Early Smoke-Fire Detection with Alarm System (VESDA) for the first time in the country.
It will have 14 CZDAC coaches (AC Chair cars) with a capacity to seat 120 passengers in each. The lower deck has 48 seats, middle deck 22 (non-pantry side 16 and pantry side six) while the upper deck 50 seats.
Minister of state for railways Kotla Jaya Surya Prakash Reddy inspected the train rake at the Secunderabad station on Thursday. Speaking to reporters later, he it would be the first double decker rake in the state and the fifth in the country. A team from the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO), Lucknow will inpect the routes and check the safety aspects, speed levels and other parameters. If the team is satisfied with the safety aspects during the trial runs, they will recommend to the CRS to give green signal.
If it thinks safety improvements are needed, it will ask SCR to do the needed.