(FE)
Probably the last new train launched by the Indian Railways that one can recall was back in September 2009, when the then railway minister Mamta Banerjee flagged off the Sealdah-New Delhi Duronto Express. Since then, no noteworthy train was offered to passengers. In 2014, when Suresh Prabhu took charge as railway minister, he made it clear that the transporter needed to provide new categories and products to attract passengers, given that it was losing its share to airlines and roadways. 2017 has seen the culmination of Prabhu’s efforts; a slew of new trains were introduced. Trains in the premium, non-premium and special categories were launched during the year, which will cater to every stratum of passengers. “Starting 2015, there has seen a major paradigm change in terms of focus. The railways has been able break out of the shell. Due to lack of investments over decades, the railways had reached a point of status quo. That has changed now,” said Mohd Jamshed, member-traffic, Railway Board. In 2015, priorities were made clear and it was realised that though results would be visible a few years later, investments needed to be made to augment capacity not only of fixed infrastructure but also of rolling stock, apart from others, to generate more passenger traffic.
It was Prabhu who announced that five products were to cater to all categories of passengers. Here’s a look. Premium products The Tejas Express was one of the superfast trains launched this year that got much public attention because of the improved facilities it offered such as automatic door system, LED screens with pre-loaded entertainment content for passengers, Wi-Fi, CCTV and GPS systems. But soon it was in the news because of maintenance issues and damage caused by passengers on board the train. It first started between Mumbai and Goa. Covering some of the metropolitan cities, the railways now plans to launch this product between Surat and Mumbai, as promised by former railway minister Prabhu.
