**Policy Summary:**
This document summarizes the response provided by the Minister of Railways, Information Broadcasting and Electronics Information Technology, Shri Ashwini Vaishnaw, to Lok Sabha Unstarred Question No. 576, answered on July 23, 2025. The question, posed by Shri S Venkatesan, concerned the number of coaches under the jurisdiction of Southern Railways over the past five fiscal years (FY 2021-2025) and a class-wise breakdown, including the number of unreserved coaches.
As of April 1, 2025, Southern Railway holds approximately 5,300 coaches for train operations. Of these, approximately 1,426 are air-conditioned (AC) coaches, while approximately 3,974 are non-AC coaches, encompassing both General and Sleeper classes.
Key Entities Referenced
Ministry of Railways: A ministry of the Government of India responsible for the country's rail transport.
Lok Sabha: The lower house of the Parliament of India.
Southern Railways: One of the 18 zones of Indian Railways.
SHRI S VENKATESAN: Member of Parliament who asked the question.
SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW: Minister of Railways, Information Broadcasting and Electronics Information Technology.
FY 2021-2025: Financial years from 2021 to 2025.
AC coaches: Air conditioned railway coaches.
non-AC coaches: Non-air conditioned railway coaches categorized as General and Sleeper coaches.
GOVERNMENT OF INDIA
MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS
LOK SABHA
UNSTARRED QUESTION NO.576
TO BE ANSWERED ON 23.07.2025
COACHES UNDER JURISDICTION OF SOUTHERN RAILWAYS
576. SHRI S VENKATESAN:
Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state:
(a) the total number of coaches in the trains under the jurisdiction of
Southern Railways at the end of the last five years i.e. FY 2021-2025; and
(b) the class-wise details of the coaches including the number of
unreserved coaches?
ANSWER
MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND
ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY
(SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW)
(a) & (b) As on 01.04.2025, the total number of coaches held by Southern
Railway for trains operations is approximately 5,300 of which around 1400
(26%) coaches are AC while 3900 (74%) coaches are non-AC coaches
(General and Sleeper).
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