The Indian Railways is working to roll out 100 Amrit Bharat trains. The Amrit Bharat trains are non-AC sleeper class trains with 12 sleeper class coaches and 8 general class coaches. With the Prime Minister inaugurating four non-AC Amrit Bharat trains on July 18, not only did Bihar become the originating point of five such high-tech trains meant for the economically weaker sections, but the total number of Amrit Bharat trains in India reached seven.
Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw had said that Amrit Bharat 2.0 trains are aimed at providing affordable service and a high-quality travelling experience for people in the lower-income and lower-middle-income category. He said that Amrit Bharat trains will provide comprehensive services to the people at a very low cost, based on Prime Minister’s mantra of ‘Sabka Saath, Sabka Vikas’. He said that these trains will provide a better travelling experience and high-quality service to those travelling long distances.
The Amrit Bharat trains at present connect Delhi and Mumbai to Uttar Pradesh and Bihar. While the government is going ahead with its 100 Amrit Bharat trains plan, the architect of Vande Bharat Express – the Modi government’s flagship train – is not happy with the move. Sudhanshu Mani, the former General Manager of ICF Chennai, feels that it’s time for India to do away with the non-ac sleeper class trains as they do not bode well with the ‘Vikasit Bharat’ dream of Prime Minister Narendra Modi.
“Earlier, there were talks that Railways would produce only AC trains. I liked the idea as I thought that they would enable everyone to travel in AC without increasing the fare, somewhat like the Garib Rath Express concept. Today, the poor have less money, so allow them to travel in AC at a low cost and when India gets developed and they will have money, then charge them accordingly,” said Mani.
The former Railway officer feels that lower income group people deserve better and added that taking these non-AC trains to Vikasit Bharat would be a shame. “If today’s non-AC coaches run in ‘Vikasit Bharat’, well past 2047, it would be a shame. The government should make a clear decision to enable the poor to travel in AC with comfort and dignity. What the government can do is allow the poor to travel in AC coaches at a fare equal to or lower than that of Garib Rath. The railway is getting a lot of money and they can take some more losses from here and earn more from trains like Vande Bharat,” said Mani.
He added that people will pay more for higher-end trains if the railways manage to cut down on travel time by increasing the average speed of the Vande Bharat to 100-110 kmph from the current 70 to 90 kmph.
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