Lok Sabha Question No. 1664 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2025-07-30
Subject: General Class Coaches added to Mail/Express Trains in Maharashtra
Ministry: RAILWAYS
Asked by: Shri Mohite Patil Dhairyasheel Rajsinh, Dr. Amol Ramsing Kolhe, Smt. Supriya Sule, Shri Sanjay Dina Patil, Prof. Varsha Eknath Gaikwad, Shri Bhaskar Murlidhar Bhagare

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS

## LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 1664 TO BE ANSWERED ON 30.07.2025

## GENERAL CLASS COACHES ADDED TO MAIL/EXPRESS TRAINS IN MAHARASHTRA

1664.  SHRI SANJAY DINA PATIL:

SMT. SUPRIYA SULE:

DR. AMOL RAMSING KOLHE:

PROF. VARSHA EKNATH GAIKWAD:

SHRI BHASKAR MURLIDHAR BHAGARE:

SHRI MOHITE PATIL DHAIRYASHEEL RAJSINH:

Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:

- (a) whether  the  Government  is  aware  that  many  poor  passengers  travelling  in General Class face severe overcrowding and often do not get seats particularly in trains operating through Maharashtra, if so, the details thereof;
- (b) the number of General Class coaches added to Mail/Express trains operating in and through Maharashtra during the current financial year under the initiative to augment LHB-coach trains;
- (c) whether any data has been maintained for the said State regarding the demand for  General  Class  travel,  if  so,  the  details  thereof  and  the  measures  taken  to address it, District or zone-wise;
- (d) the  details  of  non-AC  coaches  including  General  and  Sleeper  Class  Coaches planned  to  be  manufactured  for  Western  Railway,  Central  Railway  and  South Central  Railway  zones  serving  the  said  State  and  the  expected  deployment timeline; and
- (e) the long-term strategy of the Railways to ensure affordable, safe and dignified travel  for  unreserved  passengers  in  the  said  State  including  infrastructure  at railway stations for general class travellers?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND

## ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)

- (a)  to  (e):  Railways  have  significantly  increased  the  facilities  for  passengers demanding general class travel.  During the last financial year 2024-25 alone, 1250 general coaches have been utilised in various long-distance trains.

The percentage of non-AC coaches has significantly increased to about 70% as detailed below:

## Table 1: Distribution of coaches:

| Non-AC coaches (general and sleeper)   | ~57,200   | ~70%   |
|----------------------------------------|-----------|--------|
| AC coaches                             | ~25,000   | ~30%   |
| Total coaches                          | ~82,200   | 100%   |

Due to higher availability of general coaches, the number of passengers traveling in general/ unreserved coaches has shown an increasing trend as shown below:

## Table 2: Passengers in general/unreserved coaches:

| Year    | No. of Passengers   |
|---------|---------------------|
| 2020-21 | 99 Cr (Covid year)  |
| 2021-22 | 275 Cr (Covid year) |
| 2022-23 | 553 Cr              |
| 2023-24 | 609 Cr              |
| 2024-25 | 651 Cr              |

The number of seats available for non-AC passengers has also increased  over the years.  The current composition is as follows: Table 3: Distribution of seats:

| Non-AC seats   | ~ 54 lakhs   | ~ 78%   |
|----------------|--------------|---------|
| AC seats       | ~ 15 lakhs   | ~ 22%   |
| Total          | ~ 69 lakhs   | 100%    |

Given the above data, it is clear that Indian Railways is committed to the low and middle income families who prefer railways as an affordable means of transportation.

Railways  have  developed  a  fully  non-AC  modern  train  named  as  Amrit  Bharat express.  Already 14 services are in operation.  These modern trains have advanced features  like  Semi-Permanent  couplers  for  jerk  free  travel,  horizontal  sliding windows,  foldable  snack  tables  and  bottle  holders,  mobile  holders  etc.   These trains comprise 8 Sleeper Class coaches and 11 General Class coaches.

To provide greater accommodation for the passengers using General and non-AC Sleeper  Coaches,  the  extant  policy  regarding  composition  of  Mail/Express  trains provides for 12 (Twelve) General  class & Sleeper class non- AC coaches and 08 (eight) AC-Coaches, in a train of 22 coaches, thereby providing greater accommodation for the passengers  using General and non-AC Sleeper Coaches.

Further,  to  cater  to  the  needs  of  passengers  desirous  of  availing  unreserved accommodation, Indian Railways (IR) operate unreserved non-AC passenger trains/ MEMU  /  EMU  etc.  for  affordable  travel,  which  are  in  addition  to  the  unreserved accommodation (coaches) available in Mail/Express services.

Development of Amrit Bharat Express trains, manufacturing of MEMU trains, and increasing  the  share  of  general  coaches  clearly  shows  that  Indian  Railways  is catering effectively to the demand for travel in general class.

Over  and  above  the  current  high  share  of  non-AC  coaches  (~70%  of  total coaches),  Railways  is  executing  a  special  manufacturing  programme  for  17,000 non-AC general/sleeper coaches over the next 5 years.

## Station Redevelopment

Development  /  Redevelopment  /  Upgradation  /  Modernisation  of  stations  on Indian Railways is a continuous and ongoing process and works in this regard are undertaken as per requirement, subject to inter-se priority and availability of funds. The priority for development / redevelopment / upgradation / modernisation of stations is accorded to higher category of station over lower category of station while sanctioning and executing the works.

Ministry of Railways has launched Amrit Bharat Station Scheme for development  of  stations  on  a  continuous  basis  with  a  long-term  approach.  It involves  preparation  of  master  plans  and  their  implementation  in  phases  to improve  the  amenities  at  the  stations  like  improvement  of  station  access, circulating  areas,  waiting  halls,  toilets,  lift/escalators  as  necessary,  platform surfacing  and  cover  over  platform,  cleanliness,  free  Wi-Fi,  kiosks  for  local products  through  schemes  like  'One  Station  One  Product',  better  passenger information systems, executive lounges, nominated spaces for business meetings, landscaping, etc. keeping in view the necessity at each station. The scheme also envisages improvement of building, integrating the station with both sides of the city, multimodal integration, amenities for Persons with Disabilities (Divyangjans), sustainable and environment  friendly solutions, provision  of  ballastless  tracks,  etc.  as  per  necessity,  phasing  and  feasibility and creation of city centre at the station in the long term. So far, 1337 stations including 132 stations in the state of Maharashtra have been identified for development under this scheme. Development works at railway stations under Amrit Bharat Station Scheme in the state of Maharashtra have been taken up at a good pace. Till now, phase-I works  of  15  stations  (Amgaon,  Chanda  Fort,  Chinchpokli,  Devlali,  Dhule, Kedgaon,  Lasalgaon,  Lonand  Jn,  Matunga,  Murtizapur  Jn,  Netaji  Subhash Chandra Bose Itwari Junction, Parel, Savda, Shahad, Vadala Road) in the state of Maharashtra have been completed under this scheme. Development / Upgradation / Modernisation of stations including under Amrit Bharat  Station  Scheme  is  generally  funded  under  Plan  Head-53  'Customer Amenities'.  The  details  of  allocation  and  expenditure  under  Plan  Head-53  are maintained  Zonal  Railway-wise  and  not  work-wise,  or  station  wise  or  statewise. The state of Maharashtra is covered under the jurisdiction of four railway zones,  namely  Central  Railway,  South  Central  Railway,  South  East  Central Railway and Western Railway. For these zones, an allocation of ₹ 3,751 crore has been made for the financial year 2025-26, out of which an expenditure of ₹ 813 crore has been incurred so far.

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