Another surprise for train passengers; railway announces 150 new trains

NEW DELHI: Union Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw has said that 100 next generation Mainline Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) trains and 50 Namo Bharat trains will be introduced to facilitate short and medium-distance train travel.

'A major decision has been taken to build MEMU trains. Presently, the operational trains have eight to 12 coaches. However, the new train will have 16 to 20 coaches. These trains will be manufactured at a new factory in Kazipet, Telangana and are for short distance travel especially in non-urban and semi-urban areas. These trains, which have the capacity to carry more passengers, will be very useful during festive seasons.

Considering the excellent response received by the two Namo Bharat trains operating on the Ahmedabad-Bhuj and Jayanagar-Patna routes, it has also been decided to build 50 more. 'Namo Bharat trains are fully AC trains, suitable for short distance travel, especially on intercity routes' - Ashwini Vaishnav said.

With this, Indian Railways is going to launch 150 new passenger trains in the coming days. The railway minister pointed that in 2024-25, about 720 crore passengers travelled by trains in India. He said that the effort to introduce more general coaches has been going on for more than two and a half years to meet the demand of passengers.