Railway Board approves more general class coaches in Mail and Express

Chennai

In a circular dated October 21, Vivek Kumar Sinha, Deputy Director (Coaching), Railway Board, instructed the general managers of all zones to ensure that a minimum of two general class coaches were attached to all Mail/Express trains. The board has also allowed the zones to increase the number of general class coaches “where it is operationally feasible and commercially justified”.

The board has also directed the zonal railways to ensure immediate compliance with the circular. The relaxation would facilitate more low-cost travel in the days to come.

The low cost coach augmentation has been done in addition to the fully unreserved special trains such as Jan Sadharan, Jan Sewa and Antyodaya express services offered by Indian Railway.

The decision was taken following a board meeting on September 29 during which the attachment of general class coaches was discussed. The Railway Ministry had suspended general class coaches since lockdown restrictions were imposed to avoid the spread of COVID-19. Though special train services across the country and suburban services in Mumbai were resumed in the recent months, general class coaches were either largely avoided, or their numbers were maintained low to ensure social distancing is maintained on board.