Railways to roll out economy AC three tier coaches, fares to be 8% cheaper

On long distance routes, Indian Railways is planning to launch AC 3 economy class, with fares expected to be at least 8% less than what a passenger pays for a class 3 AC ticket. This is being done to introduce passengers travelling on sleeper class, the benefits of  AC coaches. The lowest base fare is Rs 440 for 300 km, while the highest base fare is Rs 3,065 for 5,000 km, according to reports.

Railways to cut down sleeper class coaches

By the end of 2021, the railways is planning to build at least 800 AC3 economy class coaches. Out of these 800, 300 coaches will be manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai. At the Modern coach factory, Raebareli 285 coaches would be manufactured, while at Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, 177 coaches will be manufactured.

The AC3 economy class coaches will have a total of 83 berths. Currently, AC3 coaches have 72 berths with two side berths. However, the AC3 economy class coaches would have three side berths.

According to the website, Indian Railways is looking to cut down sleeper coaches and introduce AC3 economy coaches of the same number on long-distance trains. It further added that railways is making 7% profit from the sale of AC 3 tickets. On the contrary, it is making 63% loss in urban trains, 40% in suburban trains, 24% in AC 1, 27% in AC 2, and 34% in sleeper class, it added.