The age of non air-conditioned rail travel may slowly be drawing to a close with the inauguration of Garib Rath, the poor man's air-conditioned train, on Wednesday.
The train, which was announced by Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav in his last budget speech, is fully air-conditioned. The fares are 25 per cent less than the current third A/C charges.
Railway officials say if the Garib Rath -- at lower fares -- proves to be economically viable then the ministry will look at phasing out non air-conditioned coaches.
The first of these trains will be flagged off by Lalu from Saharsa in Bihar on Wednesday. The train will run bi-weekly between Saharsa and Amritsar.
The fare is reportedly Rs 691 for the entire journey in a third A/C coach, compared to the current price of Rs 1,200 on other trains plying on the same route. The fare is only Rs 146 less than the current sleeper fares for the route.
"Garib Rath is the future of Indian rail travel," said an official emphasising that the train would prove that there was no reason why wholly air-conditioned trains should not become the norm.
But how does the Railways manage to run these trains despite slashing fares? "The new mantra for earning higher revenues is to increase length of the train by adding coaches as well as speed and occupancy of trains, and to control costs," an official said.
A study of the cost comparison between Garib Rath and a standard air-conditioned train shows that while the cost of running a 24-coach air-conditioned train between Delhi and Mumbai is 47 paise per passenger kilometre, the Garib Rath with the same number of coaches would only cost 34 paise per passenger kilometre.
This is because the Garib Rath -- due to its design -- can carry up to 1,828 passengers in a 24-coach train, while a standard train can carry only 1,228 passengers.
The Railways have also found that running 24-coach trains instead of the current practice of 17 coaches will bring in substantial additional revenues compared to the additional fuel cost per coach.
"When a 17-coach train is upgraded to a 24-coach train, the earnings increase by 53 per cent, while cost increases only by 23 per cent," the official added.
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