Indian Railways launches AC three-tier economy class coach

In a notable development, Indian Railways introduced its first air-conditioned (AC) three-tier economy class coach on February 10, 2021. It is expected to be synonymous with the cheapest and the best AC travel in the world. The coaches will be economical and in between the current AC three-tier and non-AC sleeper class. The coach was rolled out from the Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala to Research Design and Standards Organisation, Lucknow for an upcoming trial. The coach has ergonomically improved designs of seats, berths, design of ladder for accessing the middle and upper berths, foldable snack tables in both longitudinal and transverse bays, injury-free spaces and holders for water bottles, mobile phones and magazines. As a part of improving passenger facility and comforts, the design for both Indian and the Western style lavatories has been improved and public address and passenger information systems have been installed. Further, each coach has been provided with a wider and specially-able friendly toilet entry door as a new initiative. RCF has planned production of 248 such coaches during the current and the next fiscal year.