Chennai: Swanky glass ceiling tourist train with 360 degree rotating seats is all set to be a reality by next year as the Southern Railway has placed orders with Integral Coach Factory, Perambur, to manufacture high-end coaches with LED lightings.
The coaches resembling ones in vistadome train running in Araku valley near Visakhapatnam have been in the pipeline since 2015 and now the project has got a fresh lease of life with Southern Railway planning to go ahead with the new project.
“The new train will resemble like the ‘vistadome’ coaches popular in the Visakhapatnam – Kirandul railway line. The Southern Railway asked us to manufacture coaches with similar facilities aimed to provide a new experience for tourists,” an ICF official said.
It is learnt that Southern Railway has placed orders at ICF to manufacture 15 vistadome coaches that will be augmented with a train running between tourists destination in Tamil Nadu. “Glass ceiling and large windows in the coaches will help the passengers to enjoy picturesque views along the way to their destination. Cost of 40-seat vistadome coach is '3.38 crore. 360-degree rotating seats will enable clear view,” the official said. However, Southern Railway is not yet decided on the route and train that is to be augmented with new coaches.
“Decisions will be taken after ICF hands over the coaches. There are some clearances to be availed before bringing in any new coach to the operation,” a railway official attached to Salem railway division said.
The ICF official also said that ICF would begin designing works of the coaches in a few weeks. “ICF has been concentrating on the Train-18 project, a self-propulsion EMU train with a maximum speed of 160km per hour. After finishing Train-18 works on vistadome will commence,” the official added.
