Tag Archives: glass-top

Starting December, Indian Railways plans to test-run three luxury coaches with glass ceilings, one on a route in the Kashmir valley and the other two in the Araku Valley in South India. In a bid to attract wealthy tourists, the coaches will have chairs that can rotate, have extra leg space and high-tech infotainment systems, informed A.K. Manocha, Chairman and Managing Director, Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation (IRCTC). “There are some trains with glass ceiling(s) in foreign countries like Switzerland, which enjoy the patronage of tourists. We believe such coaches would also give a fillip to rail tourism in India,” Manocha said. The move is a part of the government’s attempt to revamp the massive transport system. Dham Ghaj Prasad, Group General Manager, IRCTC explained the coaches with glass top ceiling would be the first of its type in India. “Work on the project started in 2015 with a series of meetings on the specification of the coach design. The first such coach is all set to roll out this month (October) itself. The coaches will be ultra luxurious with rotatable chairs to provide the passengers an aerial view through partly glass ceiling,” he elaborated. Estimated at Rs 4 crore per glass-topped coach, the project spending is estimated around $17 billion (Rs1.21 lakh crore) this fiscal towards this revamp. The Indian Railways this year also announced plans to offer wi-fi hotspots at 100 stations and improve its services via smartphone apps.

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