TIRUCHY: Railway passengers planning holiday trips during summer can expect more AC 3-tier coaches on Express trains.
According to sources, Southern Railway is likely to add more such coaches as demand would be high. Pearl City Express (Tuticorin-Chennai) and Kanniyakumari Express are some of the trains that would get more AC 3-tier coaches. As per the current plan, the railway is planning to replace one of the sleeper coaches of existing trains with AC 3-tier coaches. Officials said the move would not create any inconvenience to passengers. "Usually, a train would have 22 to 24 coaches. In this, 9 to 10 coaches would be sleeper and 2 to 3 would be AC 3-tier. Therefore, even if we replace one of the non-ac sleeper coaches with AC 3-tier coaches, it would not create much inconvenience to passengers," an officer explained.
Apart from meeting the demand for AC coaches during summer, the move would also ensure more revenue to the railway. According to Indian Railways annual report and accounts 2019-20, the railway earned Rs 1.29 per passenger per km (from one passenger in one km) from AC 3-tier and 50.6 paise per passenger per km from a second sleeper class.
Many passengers have suggested that the railway should plan this in more trains. "It is very difficult to get confirmed tickets for AC 3-tier during summer as there is a high demand and most of the trains would be having two or three such coaches. Therefore, the move will certainly help passengers planning holidays," said T Rajendran, a passenger from Thanjavur.
Some passengers also opined that the railway should consider additional AC coaches instead of replacing sleeper coaches. "They can consider adding more AC coaches instead of replacing a sleeper coach. But, they should not consider a similar move for AC 2-tier. This is because AC 3-tier is an economically feasible coach preferred by middle-class people. Therefore, the move would help middle-class families planning trips. However, if they replace a sleeper class with AC 2-tier, it would help only the creamy layer," said B Jayanthi, a railway passenger from Chennai.