Railways plans to make old ICF coaches attractive under 'Project Utkristh'

After the success of the 'Operation Swarn', the Indian Railways has planned to upgrade the coaches of the superfast and mail expresses under 'Project Utkristh', ministry officials said on Thursday.

As per the Railway Ministry plans, the railways would be working to facelift the coaches of the superfast, mail and express trains on its network.

A Railway Ministry official related to the development told IANS: "Under Project Utkrashit, the railways would upgrade about 140 rakes of the trains in the first phase that would be completed by March 2019."

About 500 rakes on the trains that still runs on the old Integral Coach factory design,are planned to be upgraded in the second phase, he added.

The official also said that under Project Utkristh, for which Rs 60 lakh per rake has been sanctioned, interiors and exteriors of the train will be upgraded, adding that the project won't just be a retrofitting of the old coaches, but overall change would be witnessed in every aspect.

There will be improvement in toilets, seats and berths to floor and exterior, the official said.

The dustbin of the coaches would be provided with the garbage bag coach and toilets, PVC flooring will be changed in case it is damaged, and faded coach panels will be replaced. The roof of the coach will also be repaired wherever required.

The official also said that the torn seats and compressed berths cushions will be replaced and fire extinguishers will be installed in all reserved coaches for enhanced safety.

Meanwhile, good quality curtains will be provided in air conditioned coaches and they will also have toilet occupancy indicators.

Beside these, the doorway and gangway area will be given an anti-graffiti vinyl wrapping. Each coach will be fitted with LED lights and PVC flooring in toilets will be replaced with epoxy flooring.

Operation Swarn was undertaken by the Indian Railways in June last year with focus on 10 key areas -- punctuality, cleanliness, linen, coach interiors, toilets, catering, staff behaviour, security, entertainment, housekeeping and regular feedback.

Under thi, the Railways has planned to spend Rs 50 lakh on each train. The Rs 25 crore venture covers 30 trains in total - 15 Rajdhani and 15 Shatabdi Express trains.

--IANS

aks/vd