Indian Railways coaching stock

Indian Railways run a number of different types of coaches, with different patterns of seating or berths, depending on the class of travel.

Accommodation Types

The following class-accommodation combinations have been created for the system.

• I AC. Berths for night and seats for day. Both berths and seats are considered identical with respect to fare and accommodations.
• AC 2 -tier sleeper. Berths for night and seats for day are considered identical with respect to fare. The extent of accommodation for night journey and day journey (that is, sitting and sleeping accommodation) generally remains the same.
• I Class. Berths and seats are considered identical with respect to fare but during the day, number of seats are greater than the number of berths during the night.
• Executive Chair Car
• AC 3-Tier
• AC chair car
• Sleeper class berths
• II Class sitting (Day coaches )
• General Coaches
• AC 3-tier Economy (3E)

On 1 October 2009 a new class was introduced: Third AC Economy (3E). The class is designated for the coaches, which have an additional berth in the side section (SM type - Side Middle). This type of accommodation is created for less well off people, who wish to travel in AC 3-tier for a lesser price.

The following table lists the classes in operation. Not all classes may be attached to a rake though.

Class	Description
1A	First class AC: This is the most expensive class, where the fares are almost at par with air fare. There are eight cabins (including two coupes) in the full AC First Class coach and three cabins (including one coupe) in the half AC First Class coach. The coach has an attendant to help the passengers. Bedding is included with the fare in IR. This air conditioned coach is present only on popular routes and can carry 18 passengers (full coach) or 10 passengers (half coach). The sleeper berths are extremely wide and spacious. The coaches are carpeted, have sleeping accommodation and have privacy features like personal coupes. This class is available on broad gauge and metre gauge trains.
2A	AC-Two tier: These air-conditioned coaches have sleeping berths across eight bays. Berths are usually arranged in two tiers in bays of six, four across the width of the coach and two berths longways on the other side of the corridor, with curtains along the gangway or corridor. Bedding is included with the fare. A broad gauge coach can carry 48 passengers (full coach) or 20 passengers (half coach). This class is available on broad gauge and metre gauge trains.
FC	First class: Same as 1AC but without air conditioning. No bedding is available in this class. The berths are wide and spacious. There is a coach attendant to help the passengers. This class has been phased out on most of the trains and is rare to find. However narrow gauge trains to hill stations have this class.
3A	AC three tier: Air conditioned coaches with 64 sleeping berths. Berths are usually arranged as in 2AC but with three tiers across the width and two longways as before giving eight bays of eight. They are slightly less well-appointed, usually no reading lights or curtained off gangways. Bedding is included with fare. It carries 64 passengers in broad gauge. This class is available only on broad gauge.
3E	AC three tier (Economy): Air conditioned coaches with sleeping berths, present in Garib Rath Trains. Berths are usually arranged as in 3AC but with three tiers across the width and three longways. They are slightly less well-appointed, usually no reading lights or curtained off gangways. Bedding is not included with fare.
CC	AC chair car: An air-conditioned seater coach with a total of five seats in a row used for day travel between cities.
EC	Executive class chair car: An air-conditioned coach with large spacious seats and legroom. It has a total of four seats in a row used for day travel between cities. This class of travel is only available on Shatabdi Express trains.
Double Decker	Double Decker: These are found in both AC and Non-AC rakes. AC Double Deck sitter coaches used in Double Decker Express. AC Double Deck sleeper will be used by newly proposed Uday Express. Non-AC Double Deck sitter were introduced to few Mumbai-Pune trains and the Flying Ranee. However Flying Ranee is the only train that uses Non-AC Double Decker sitter coaches.
SL	Sleeper class: The sleeper class is the most common coach on IR, and usually ten or more coaches could be attached. These are regular sleeping coaches with three berths vertically stacked. In broad gauge, it carries 72 passengers per coach.
2S	Seater class: same as AC Chair car, without the air-conditioning. These may be reserved in advance or may be unreserved.
UR/GEN	Unreserved/General: The cheapest accommodation. The seats are usually made up of pressed wood in older coaches but cushioned seats are found in new coaches. These coaches are usually over-crowded and a seat is not guaranteed. Tickets are issued in advance for a minimum journey of more than 24 hours. Tickets issued are valid on any train on the same route if boarded within 24 hours of buying the ticket.
Deen Dayalu	Deen Dayalu: These are non reserved coaches for long distance trains.

Classification of berths

Berths are classified as follows:

• LB = Lower Berth
• MB = Middle Berth
• UB = Upper Berth
• SUB = Side Uprth
• SMB = Side Middle Berth (Found in AC 3-tier Economy class)

This is applicable to the Broad Gauge coaches, however on the Metre Gauge, coaches don't have side berths (SLB, SMB & SUB). While the Narrow Gauge coaches don't have sleeper berths.

Indian Railways is mostly composed of (Indian) Broad Gauge, while the already less Meter Gauge is being phased out, with mostly undergoing a Gauge Conversion, to the Broad Gauge. A remaining exception will be the Narrow Gauge rail. Two of which are UNESCO World Heritage Sites, the Darjeeling Himalayan Railway and the Nilgiri Mountain Railway.

On Broad Gauge trains, there would normally be 64 seats/berths for 3 tier AC coaches (3A) and 72 seats/berths for 3 tier Sleeper coaches (SL) with the coaches having four entrances two each on either sides of the coach at their ends. These coaches would display the seat/berth numbers painted just above each of their windows that would be in alignment to that particular window. The Higher classes have reduction in their seating/berth capacity, for passenger comfort, based on their class respectively. New LHB rakes have 72 seats/berths for 3 tier AC coaches (3A).

Middle berths are found in AC 3-tier Economy class coaches (3E), these coaches are meant for not so well off people, who desire a comfortable travel at lesser fare.

The "second sitting" have 108 seats but with two additional entrances right in the middle of the coaches on their either sides. Therefore these coaches have six entrances.

Gallery of different types of Coaches

• 
  Interior of a First Class(1A) compartment in the Rajdhani Express
• 
  Interior of an air-conditioned Chair Car coach(CC) in an Jan Shatabdi Express.
• 
  Air-conditioned Chair Car (CC) coaches in an GANADEVTA Express.
• 
  Inside a 3-tier AC Compartment of the Dakshin Express
• 
  A typical sleeper class coach

See also

• Rail transport in India

External links

• Indian Railways - Online Passenger Reservation Site Providing Availability etc..
• Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Limited - Online Passenger Reservation Site
• http://www.icf.gov.in/html/Product_Gallery/thumbnails_home_page/HOME_PAGE.htm
• http://indianrail.gov.in/other_rly_sites.html