Share of AC berths doubled in last decade in long-distance trains
Suburban trains are meant for short distances, usually up to 150 kilometres, to facilitate movement within cities, suburbs, and extended suburbs. These trains operate with electrical multiple units rakes or EMUs. Non-suburban trains cover longer distances and this analysis is restricted to them.
These conclusions assume significance, given that the Indian Railways is keen on increasing the number of AC three-tier coaches in long-distance trains — the only class of travel which has fetched consistent profits for the organisation — in place of sleeper and other coaches. While news reports show that in many long-distance trains, sleeper and second class coaches are being substituted with AC three-tier coaches, the government has refuted such claims in a recent reply in the Lok Sabha.
In a question answered on July 23, the Minister of Railways, Ashwini Vaishnaw, had said that the share of non-AC coaches has 'significantly increased to about 70%'. However, the data shared in the reply does not specify the base year from which this increase was calculated. The data shared by the Minister also claimed that in FY25, 1,250 general coaches have been utilised in long-distance trains, while the corresponding figures for AC coaches were not divulged.
However, data for non-suburban trains collated from the Indian Railways Annual Reports of 2023-24 and 2013-14 show substantial increase in AC berths/seats. In the last decade, the share of non-AC berths/seats declined from over 84% to 68% of the total available berths/seats in non-suburban trains, while the share of AC berths/seats increased from close to 16% to about 32% as shown in the chart below.
The increase in berths/seats was particularly pronounced in AC three-tier coaches. The share of these in the total increased from around 10% to 24% in the last decade. On the other hand, the share of berths/seats in sleeper coaches decreased from 33.3% to 29% and the share of 'other non-AC' coaches came down from 51% to 39%.
An analysis of the percentage increase and decrease in berths/seats over the past decade also highlights a growing preference for AC coaches. In 2023-24, the berths/seats in AC three-tier coaches had increased by 238% from 2013-14. In contrast, the berths/seats in sleeper coaches increased by only 21% and 'other non-AC' coaches increased by only 6.4% in the same period as shown in the chart below.
A similar pattern can be seen when analysing the number of passengers who travelled across various classes of non-suburban trains. For instance, the share of passengers in AC three-tier coaches in total increased from less than 2% in 2013-14 to 7.5% in 2023-24. In contrast, the share of those in second class mail/ordinary coaches in total declined from over 88% to 75.5%. Those in sleeper mail/ordinary coaches increased from 8.3% to 13.2% as shown in the chart below.
An analysis of the percentage increase and decrease in passengers carried also shows a similar pattern. In 2023-24, the number of passengers in AC three-tier coaches increased by 201% from 2013-14. On the other hand, those carried in second class mail/ordinary coaches decreased by 36%. Passengers carried in sleeper mail/ordinary coaches increased by just 18.6% as shown in the chart below.
nitika.evangeline@thehindu.co.in
devyanshi.b@thehindu.co.in
vignesh.r@thehindu.co.in
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Time of India
an hour ago
- Time of India
Rlys urged to introduce daytime train service between Koraput & capital city
Koraput: Political leaders across party lines and social activists in the district have urged the Indian Railways to introduce a daytime train service between Koraput and Bhubaneswar. On Friday, Koraput's BJP MLA Raghuram Machha met railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw in New Delhi and submitted a memorandum, seeking the introduction of a train service that passes via Sambalpur and Angul. At present, Hirakhand Express is the only train operating on the route and it connects Jagdalpur in Chhattisgarh to Bhubaneswar via Rayagada and Vizianagaram in Andhra Pradesh. However, passengers frequently complain of overcrowding and limited accommodation on the train. Additionally, the train runs at night. "A daytime train service on the proposed route would not only benefit passengers in Koraput, but also cater to neighbouring regions and states," Machha said. He added that the railway minister has assured him of seriously considering the demand. "Hundreds of passengers from the district travel to Bhubaneswar every day for medical, educational and administrative purposes. The existing train is insufficient to accommodate the growing demand," Jeypore Congress MLA Tara Prasad Bahinipati said. He added that a new route via Sambalpur and Angul would not only reduce congestion on Hirakhand Express but also improve east-west rail connectivity across Odisha. by Taboola by Taboola Sponsored Links Sponsored Links Promoted Links Promoted Links You May Like She Was Everyone's Dream Girl In 90's, This Is Her Now The Latest Article Undo "Many residents of western Odisha live and work in Koraput. On several occasions, this demand has been raised as a train via Sambalpur would make travel far more convenient for them," Bahinipati further said. Supporting the demand, senior BJD leader and former minister Rabi Narayan Nanda highlighted the economic burden faced by passengers in the absence of adequate train services. "With limited options, especially for the tribal population, people are forced to rely on buses, which cost more than double the train fare," Nanda said. Echoing similar concerns, Madan Mohan Nayak of Utkal Sammilani's Koraput unit said that a train service connecting Koraput to Bhubaneswar via Angul was introduced during the pandemic. "That temporary service proved extremely beneficial for passengers. The railways should consider reviving it in response to the people's consistent demands," Nayak added. Get the latest lifestyle updates on Times of India, along with Friendship Day wishes , messages and quotes !
Indian Express
an hour ago
- Indian Express
Delhi Confidential: Happy moment
Representing Varanasi in Lok Sabha since 2014, Prime Minister Narendra Modi has set up an office there as a Lok Sabha MP, manned by seven-member staff. In the last over 11 years, the PM has visited this office only once, however, several ministers and other party leaders do visit the place. During the PM's trip to his constituency on Saturday, the PM met the staff on the backside of the dais after his public meeting. The PM spent a very few minutes with the staff and also stood for pictures with them. 'Vo bhi bahut khush the, hum sab bhi bahut khush hain (He was very happy, so were we),' one of the staff said after the meeting. Here & There As several ministries are in the process of moving out of North Block and Nirman Bhawan into the new office buildings built as a part of the Central Vista plan, last week saw officials shuffling from one building to another to attend internal meetings. While the Home ministry has shifted out of North Block completely, the Personnel ministry is in the process of moving to the new Common Central Secretariat. Similarly, the Housing and Urban Affairs ministry is yet to move into the new office block on K G Marg, but the Minister, Manohar Lal, has shifted his office. Sources say the shifting would be completed after the Monsoon Session of Parliament. Till then, some ministries may be operating out of multiple locations. Official Tally Data submitted by the Ministry of External Affairs in Parliament in response to two back-to-back questions from BJP Rajya Sabha MP Satnam Singh Sandhu officially declared that PM Modi surpassed eight of his predecessors by getting awards and recognition from 27 nations in the last one decade. According to the MEA, Indian PMs received 14 international awards in almost six decades between 1956 and 2015.
The Hindu
an hour ago
- The Hindu
Family alleges NRC fear behind elderly man's death in Kolkata
A 63-year-old man died in Kolkata on Sunday (August 3, 2025) morning, with his family claiming that he had been living in fear that he would be sent to Bangladesh if the National Register of Citizens (NRC) was implemented. Dilip Kumar Saha, a non-teaching staff member at a private school in Dhakuria, south Kolkata, had arrived in Kolkata in 1972 from Nawabganj, Dhaka, and had been living in Anandapally, Regent Park area. The wife of Saha said that he used to watch television news and was concerned about implementation of NRC in the State. 'He has been under severe stress for quite some time regarding this.... He was afraid that he would be sent to a detention camp and then pushed back to Bangladesh, where he had nobody. He had a valid voter ID card and other documents,' Aarti Saha, wife of the deceased said. There was concern about the implementation of the NRC in West Bengal before the 2024 Lok Sabha elections, and a sense of panic spread among the people in the State, particularly when leaders of the BJP stated that the Citizenship (Amendment) Act would be followed by the NRC. West Bengal Chief Minister and Trinamool Congress chairperson Mamata Banerjee had in September 2019 said that six persons had died due to NRC-related fear in West Bengal. On March 11, 2024, the Union Home Ministry notified CAA rules, but the BJP dropped NRC from its manifesto for the 2024 Lok Sabha polls. West Bengal Power Minister and local Trinamool Congress MLA Arup Biswas reached out of the family members of the deceased, said. 'This is what the fear of being thrown out of the country could do to a man. What they (Centre) have started in the name of the SIR shows their anti-people attitude, and the result is in front of you,' Mr. Biswas said. West Bengal's ruling party raised the issue and said that the death was the BJP's orchestrated campaign of fear and intimidation. 'Despite possessing valid documentation, Bengali-speaking citizens are being served NRC notices. Migrant workers are being arbitrarily labelled as foreigners,' the party posted on social media.
