After a wait of more than two years, the Northern Railway’s first double decker AC train was flagged off by the Railway Minister Mukul Roy on August 24, 2012. The red and yellow colour train took off on its first trip amidst pouring rain from the Delhi Sarai Rohilla station to Jaipur.
In the Beginning the train will have 12 coaches with 120 seats in each compartment which is up from 78 seats in Shatabdi express. 50 of its 120 seats are on the upper deck and 48 are on the lower deck and 22 are on the normal height.
The journey time will be four and a half hours for a total of 303 kms and the fare has been kept at Rs. 327. Permanand Singh the chief designer of the coaches has said that all the coaches have been made of stainless steel as to reduce the weight.
The coaches have been designed in such a way that it will not pile up in an accident. The train has also been equipped with a special air suspension for a smooth ride. Each coach costs Rs. 3 crores against 2.5 crores or a Rajdhani coach and 1.5 crores for a normal AC coach. The passengers on their first ride on the train were thrilled to see the rail track on such a height.
