Indian Railways to repaint 30,000 coaches, give complete makeover

In a bid to give a fresh identity to the 165-year-old Indian Railways, the Railway Board is all set to revamp the traditional dark blue colour coaches with a new colour scheme – beige and brown. To follow this through, close to 30,000 coaches of mail and express trains would be repainted in coordination with the National Institute of Fashion Technology (NIFT) and National Institute of Design (NID).

The 16-coach Delhi-Pathankot Express will be the first train to flaunt the new look, and is expected to hit the tracks by June end. While interacting with IANS, a Railways official said, “A complete makeover of coaches was long overdue, and the new colour scheme was applied in trains after it was finally approved by the Railways Minister Piyush Goyal.”

In order to provide a better travelling experience to the passengers, the Railways has been trying since the past few years, to enhance the overall look and feel of the trains. Few of the changes introduced include substitution of traditional toilets with vacuum bio-toilets, reading lights at each berth, cozy seats, improved ladders for access to the upper berth, and LED berth indicators.

Not only trains, the Railways has been modernizing train stations by incorporating state-of-the-art features and services which would be at par with those available at airports. Last year, it had launched operation ‘Swarn’to upgrade Rajdhani and Shatabdi express trains to improve punctuality, cleanliness, interiors, toilets, catering, staff behaviour, security, and entertainment.

“We have started experimenting with vacuum bio-toilets like those in an aeroplane. Some 500 vacuum bio-toilets have been ordered and once the experiment is successful, I am willing to spend money to replace all the 2.5 lakh toilets in the trains with vacuum bio-toilets,” Mr Goyal said in an official statement, as mentioned in the agency report.

Premium trains like Rajdhani, Shatabdi, and Duronto have been excluded from the overhaul; along with recently inducted Tejas, Gatimaan, and Humsafar Express.businesstoday