Share of AC berths doubled in last decade in long-distance trains

Indian railways are eager to increase the number of AC three -layer rams on long -distance trains.

In the last decade, in non -suburban trains (long -distance trains), the share of air -conditioned (AC) quays/seats has doubled, while the share of non -AC non -AC docks/seats has significantly decreased in India. In parallel, the share of passengers traveling in AC coaches reached three times, while the share of travelers in the second grade significantly decreased.

Suburban trains are usually for short distances up to 150 kilometers to facilitate movement in cities, suburbs and expanded suburbs. These trains work with electrical multiple units with races or emus. Non -Tuburban trains cover longer distances and this analysis is limited to these.

These results assume importance, considering that Indian railways are willing to increase the number of AC three -layer coaches on long -distance trains, the only travel class that brings consistent profits for the organization, instead of sleeping and other coaches. News reports showed that on many long -distance train, sleeping and second -class coaches were replaced with AC three -layer coaches, while the government’s latest response in Lok Sabha refuted these allegations.

In a question answered on July 23, Railways Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said that the share of non -AC coaches increased significantly to 70%”. However, the data shared in the response do not specify the basic year in which this increase is calculated. The data shared by the Minister also claimed that 1,250 general coaches were used on long -distance trains in 25 financial years and that the corresponding figures for AC coaches were not disclosed.

However, data for non-suburban trains collected from the Indian Railways Annual Reports dated 2023-24 and 2013-14 have increased significantly in AC shacks/seats. In the last decade, the share of non -AC non -AC docks/seats has dropped from 68% of the total docks/seats existing in non -subuggling trains.

The increase in the docks/seats was especially evident in AC three -layer coaches. Their total share has increased from 10% to 24% in the last decade. On the other hand, the share of the docks/seats in sleeping coaches fell from 33.3% to 29% and the share of ‘other non -AC’ coaches fell from 51% to 39%.

In the last decade, the analysis of the percentage of percentage and decrease in quays/seats emphasizes an increasing preference for AC coaches. In 2023-24, the docks/seats in AC three-layer coaches increased by 238% from 2013-14. In contrast, the docks/seats in the sleeping coaches increased only 21% and the ‘other non -AC’ coaches increased only 6.4% in the same period as shown in the following graph.

A similar pattern can be seen when analyzing the number of passengers traveling in various non -suburban train classes. For example, in total 2013-14, less than 2% of passengers in AC three-layer coaches increased to 7.5% at 2023-24%. In contrast, second -class mail/ordinary coaches fell from 88% to 75.5%. Those in sleeping mail/ordinary coaches rose from 8.3% to 13.2% as shown in the graph below.

The analysis of the increase and decrease in passengers carried shows a similar pattern. In 2023-24, the number of passengers in AC three-layer coaches increased 201% from 2013-14%. On the other hand, those transported in second -class mail/ordinary coaches decreased by 36%. Passengers carried in sleeping mail/ordinary coaches increased only 18.6% as shown in the graph below.