NEW
DELHI: Those travelling to Jaipur from Delhi can look forward to a novel
experience with the Railways ready with a double-decker, air-conditioned train
on the route.
Railway
minister Mukul Roy was scheduled to flag off the double-decker train service to
the Pink City from Sarai Rohilla station in Delhi on Thursday but the launch
was postponed due to the death of Congress leader and Cabinet minister Vilasro
Deshmukh.
The
train, which will be a daily service, is expected to cover the distance between
the national capital and Jaipur in five hours. Railway officials said the train
will leave Sarai Rohilla at 5.35 pm and reach Jaipur at 10.05 pm. The train
will leave Jaipur at 5.55 am on its return journey.
The
double-decker coach, being manufactured by the Kapurthala coach factory in
Punjab, has a seating capacity of 120. Equipped with fully automatic doors,
each coach has eight emergency windows and fire extinguishers near its door.
The
coaches have been designed keeping both safety and passenger comfort in mind, a
senior railway official said. Also, each coach will have a mini-pantry including
fridge and microwave.
Railways
got safety certification from the Commissioner of Railway Safety ( CRS) after
meeting all requirements.
The
operation of a double-decker train is not new for Railways. In 2010, former
railway minister Mamata Banerjee had flagged off an AC double-decker service
between Dhanbad and Howrah.
Double-decker
services on Mumbai-Ahmedabad and Jaipur-Delhi routes were part of a slew of
announcements in the railway budget 2011-12. But the services, the brainchild
of Banerjee, failed to take off last year because of delay in manufacture of
double-decker coaches and getting safety clearance.
The
double-decker service between Mumbai and Ahmedabad is also expected to be
launched this month.
Source: TOI 16th Aug 2012
