April 12, 2002

    As Indian Railways enter the 150^th year on April 16 this year, it will be adding a new chapter to its customer- care service by introducing the first of the 16 inter-city service trains named Jan Shatabdi trains announced in the Railway Budget 2002-2003. The first Jan Shatabdi (Mumbai-Madgaon) will be flagged off by the Railway Minister Shri Nitish Kumar from Lok Manya Tilak Terminus (Kurla) on this day. These trains will have most of the characteristics of the current Shatabdi Express trains and will also have specially designed second class Chair Car accommodation. The coaches specially designed by the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai will have the following features to ensure passenger comfot:

• Ergonomically designed seats for passenger comfort
• Fibre glass Reinforced Plastic (FRP) modular toilets of Indian and Western style for better aesthetics and hygiene
• Wide window arrangement for Non-AC coaches to provide similar appearance of AC coach from outside and better view from inside
• Sunk-in type fluorescent lamps with ducting arrangement provided at the centre of the coach for better ambience and light dispersal
• Shells have been lined with glass-wool on roof and side walls to provide heat insulation for passengers comfort
• The train is designed in such a way to facilitate easy movement of passengers from one coach to another
• Rail Mart provided in each coach for supply of Cool Drinks, Snacks, Coffee/Tea etc. to passengers
• Mini Pantry provided in each coach for supply of food & beverages for passengers as a part of service
• The colour/shade of PVC flooring, sidewall panel, curtains and upholstery of seats selected to ensure colour co-ordination and pleasing look

• Designed for a maximum speed of 120 Kmph
• Non-AC chair car shell designed with 4’ X 2’ bus type window with sliding tinted glass shutter for ventilation. Window bars are provided inside the window for the security of passengers
• Non-AC chair car provided with full partition at both ends with swing doors to reduce noise and dust ingress
• Light luggage rack and improved design of coat hook fitted above the window to provide better aesthetics.
• Two rows of fans of improved design provided in the Non-AC coaches for ventilation
• The Rail Mart corner and Mini Pantry furnished with stainless steel sidewall paneling and flooring to give longer life and ease of maintenance

    Other Jan Shatabdi trains which were announced by the Minister of Railways in this years budget speech are:

1. Guwahati-Dimapur
2. Raigarh-Raipur-Durg
3. Ahemedabad-Bhuj
4. Tatanagar-Ranchi
5. Bangalore-Hubli
6. Ernakulam-Trivandrum
7. Kota-Nizamuddin
8. Bhubaneswar-Howrah
9. Dehradun-New Delhi
10. Howrah-Malda Town
11. Varanasi-Lucknow
12. Chandigarh-New Delhi
13. Chennai Central-Vijayawada
14. Habibganj-Jabalpur
15. Katihar-Patna\