Southern Railway’s Palakkad Division on Friday introduced the sixth Utkrisht rake in the rake links maintained at Mangaluru Central.
With the introduction of the new rake, the services of Train 16603/16604 Mangaluru Central - Thiruvananthapuram Maveli Express; Train 12602 Mangaluru Central – Chennai Central Mail, and Train 22637 Chennai Central- Mangaluru Central Express will operate with Utkrisht coaches daily, said an official release here.
On the introduction of two more rakes of Utkrisht coaches by September, the services of Train 22638 Mangaluru Central - Chennai Central West Coast Express; Train 12601 Chennai Central - Mangaluru Central Mail, and Train 16630/16629 Mangaluru Central - Thiruvananthapruam Central-Mangaluru Central Malabar Express will run with the these upgraded Utkrisht coaches.
Facilities
Utkrisht coaches comprise several state-of-the-art passenger-friendly facilities, including polyurethane (PU) painting with a new colour scheme with apricot on the main body and red at the ends; epoxy flooring in toilets to avoid water stagnation and improved cleanliness; hydrophobic coating in wash basins; double acting doors inside AC coaches; LED lighting; toilet occupation indication board in AC coaches; auto janitors; health faucet in toilets; digital clock in AC coaches; coach indicators inside coaches; quality coach indication boards; improved belly boards on luggage-cum-brake van coaches; Standard Braille Signage; provision of fire extinguishers in reserved coaches, and bio-toilets in all coaches.
At present, four rakes are being used to maintain the link of the Maveli Express. Conversion of other three rakes will be completed in a phased manner. Refurbishing of coaches to Utkrisht standard was carried out at Southern Railway work shops - Carriage Works, Perambur and in Golden Rock Workshop, Ponmalai, Tiruchchirpapalli.
