Indian Railways Boosts General Class Coaches to Meet Rising Passenger Demand
The Government of India has informed the Lok Sabha that Indian Railways is taking significant steps to meet the growing demand for General Class and other non-AC travel, particularly for passengers from low- and middle-income groups.
Responding to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 631 on 22 July 2026, Railway Minister Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw stated that while demand for General Class accommodation has steadily increased over the past three years, passenger occupancy varies depending on the season and route. Popular routes witness full occupancy during peak travel periods, whereas trains on less busy routes experience lower utilization during lean seasons.
General Coach Capacity Increased
To improve access to affordable rail travel, Indian Railways has undertaken permanent augmentation of General Class coaches across the network.
Key additions include:
- Financial Year 2024–25: Around 1,250 General Class coaches were utilized in long-distance trains to ensure that each train has at least four General Class coaches.
- Financial Year 2025–26: Approximately 870 coaches were permanently added, including 160 General Class coaches.
- Financial Year 2026–27 (up to 30 June 2026): Around 190 coaches were added, including 20 General Class coaches.
These measures are aimed at improving accommodation for unreserved passengers and reducing overcrowding on busy routes.
Major Push for Non-AC Coach Manufacturing
The Government has also announced an ambitious manufacturing programme of 17,000 new non-AC coaches, including both General and Sleeper coaches, to cater to the travel needs of economically weaker and middle-income families.
At present, Indian Railways operates approximately:
| Coach Type | Number of Coaches | Share |
| Non-AC (General & Sleeper) | ~62,000 | ~70% |
| AC Coaches | ~27,000 | ~30% |
| Total | ~89,000 | 100% |
This distribution reflects the Railways’ continued emphasis on affordable transportation.
Revised Train Composition
The Ministry highlighted that the existing policy for Mail and Express trains prioritizes non-AC accommodation.
A standard 22-coach Mail/Express train generally consists of:
- 12 General and Sleeper (Non-AC) coaches
- 8 AC coaches
- Remaining coaches for luggage, guard, and other operational requirements.
This composition provides a larger share of seats for passengers travelling in General and Sleeper classes.
Additional Unreserved Services
Apart from General coaches attached to Mail and Express trains, Indian Railways continues to operate a large network of:
- Unreserved Passenger trains
- MEMU (Mainline Electric Multiple Unit) services
- EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) services
These trains offer economical travel options, especially for daily commuters and short-distance passengers.
Amrit Bharat Trains for Affordable Travel
The Minister also highlighted the introduction of Amrit Bharat services, designed specifically as fully non-AC modern trains for low- and middle-income passengers.
Each Amrit Bharat train consists of:
- 11 General Class coaches
- 8 Sleeper Class coaches
- 1 Pantry Car
- 2 Luggage-cum-Divyangjan coaches
The trains combine affordability with modern safety and passenger comfort.
Modern Features
Amrit Bharat trains are equipped with several upgraded amenities, including:
- Improved seating and sleeper berths
- Semi-automatic jerk-free couplers
- Enhanced crashworthiness through crash tubes
- CCTV surveillance in all coaches
- Improved toilet design
- Better ladders for upper berths
- LED lighting and mobile charging points
- USB Type-A and Type-C charging sockets
- EP-assisted braking system
- Aerosol-based fire suppression system
- Emergency Talk Back communication system
- Non-AC pantry with improved heating facilities
- Fully sealed gangways with quick-release mechanisms
- Addressing Overcrowding
The Government acknowledged that overcrowding remains a challenge during peak travel seasons on popular routes. To address this, Indian Railways is pursuing multiple strategies, including:
- Permanent augmentation of General Class coaches.
- Expansion of non-AC coach manufacturing.
- Maintaining a higher proportion of non-AC coaches across the national fleet.
- Operating additional unreserved Passenger, MEMU, and EMU services.
- Introducing modern Amrit Bharat trains focused on affordable travel.
As on 30.06.2026, the following 36 pairs Amrit Bharat Express services are being operated on the Indian Railways network:
| SN | Train No. and Name |
| 1 | 11015/11016 Lokmanya Tilak (T) – Saharsa Amrit Bharat Express |
| 2 | 13697/13698 Gaya – Delhi Amrit Bharat Express |
| 3 | 15293/15294 Muzaffarpur – Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express |
| 4 | 15557/15558 Darbhanga – Anand Vihar (T) Amrit Bharat Express |
| 5 | 15561/15562 Darbhanga – Gomtinagar Amrit Bharat Express |
| 6 | 15567/15568 Bapudham Motihari – Anand Vihar (T) Amrit Bharat Express |
| 7 | 22361/22362 Rajendranagar (T) – New Delhi Amrit Bharat Express |
| 8 | 13433/13434 SMVT Bengaluru – Malda Town Amrit Bharat Express |
| 9 | 13435/13436 Malda Town – Gomtinagar Amrit Bharat Express |
| 10 | 15133/15134 Chhapra – Anand Vihar (T) Amrit Bharat Express |
| 11 | 14047/14048 Sitamarhi – Delhi Amrit Bharat Express |
| 12 | 14627/14628 Saharsa – Chheharta Amrit Bharat Express |
| 13 | 19623/19624 Madar – Darbhanga Amrit Bharat Express |
| 14 | 16601/16602 Erode – Jogbani Amrit Bharat Express |
| 15 | 19021/19022 Udhna – Brahmapur Amrit Bharat Express |
| 16 | 15671/15672 Kamakhya – Rohtak Amrit Bharat Express |
| 17 | 20609/20610 New Jalpaiguri – Tiruchchirappalli Amrit Bharat Express |
| 18 | 16597/16598 SMVT Bengaluru – Alipurduar Amrit Bharat Express |
| 19 | 11031/11032 Panvel – Alipurduar Amrit Bharat Express |
| 20 | 16107/16108 Tambaram – Santragachi Amrit Bharat Express |
| 21 | 13065/13066 Howrah – Anand Vihar (T) Amrit Bharat Express |
| 22 | 22587/22588 Sealdah – Banaras Amrit Bharat Express |
| 23 | 20603/20604 New Jalpaiguri – Nagercoil Amrit Bharat Express |
| 24 | 15949/15950 Dibrugarh – Gomti Nagar Amrit Bharat Express |
| 25 | 16121/16122 Tambaram – Thiruvananthapuram Central Amrit Bharat Express |
| 26 | 16329/16330 Nagercoil – Mangaluru Amrit Bharat Express |
| 27 | 17041/17042 Charlapalli – Thiruvananthapuram North Amrit Bharat Express |
| 28 | 16619/16620 Podanur-Dhanbad Amrit Bharat Express |
| 29 | 16357/16358 Nagercoil-Charlapalli Amrit Bharat Express |
| 30 | 15673/15674 Charlapalli – Kamakhya Amrit Bharat Express |
| 31 | 17065/17066 Charlapalli – Shalimar Amrit Bharat Express |
| 32 | 22589/22590 Banaras- Hadapsar Amrit Bharat Express |
| 33 | 22111/22112 Lokmanya Tilak(T)- Ayodhya Amrit Bharat Express |
| 34 | 14663/14664 Amritsar- New Jalpaiguri Amrit Bharat Express |
| 35 | 19725/19726 Khatipura- Darbhanga Amrit Bharat Express |
| 36 | 11431/11432 Pune – Danapur Amrit Bharat Express |
Special Trains
IR also operates Special train services during festivals, holidays, etc. to cater to the extra needs of passengers and supplement the accommodation available by regular services.
Accordingly, the number of Special trains operated across the Indian Railways network, to facilitate the passengers during Summer/winter vacations, festivals like Holi, Durga Puja, Diwali, Chhath, Christmas, Sabrimala, Id-ul-fitr etc. are as below:
| Year | No. of trips |
| 2023-24 | ~40,500 |
| 2024-25 | ~85,400 |
| 2025-26 | ~80,500 |
Source: Click here to view/download PDF
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