Parliament Question: Demand of General Class Coaches in Railways

GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS LOK SABHA UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 631 TO BE ANSWERED ON 22.07.2026 DEMAND OF GENERAL CLASS COACHES IN RAILWAYS 631. SHRI MADDILA GURUMOORTHY: Will the Minister of RAILWAYS be pleased to state: (a) whether the Government is aware of the increasing demand for General Class coaches, particularly among short-distance passengers and economically weaker sections who depend on affordable rail travel, if so, the details thereof and if not, the reasons therefor; (b) whether the Government has conducted any assessment of passenger demand, occupancy levels and overcrowding in General Class coaches across the railway network, if so, the details thereof; (c) whether the Government proposes to increase the number of General Class coaches in existing trains/introduce additional General Class services to meet the growing public demand, if so, the details thereof; and (d) the steps taken/proposed to be taken to reduce overcrowding and enhance the availability of General Class accommodation across the Railways? ANSWER MINISTER OF RAILWAYS, INFORMATION & BROADCASTING AND ELECTRONICS & INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY (SHRI ASHWINI VAISHNAW) (a) to (d) The number of unreserved passengers travelling on Indian Railways has gradually increased over the last three years. However, it is also a fact that occupancy pattern of trains is not uniform throughout the year and it varies over lean and peak periods. During peak rush periods, the occupancy of the trains especially on popular routes remains full whereas during lean period and on less popular routes, there is sub optimal utilization. § Page 1 of 6With a view to meet the demand of passengers travelling in unreserved coaches, Indian Railways (IR) have significantly increased the facilities for passengers demanding general class travel. During the financial year 2024-25 alone, 1250 general coaches have been utilised in various long-distance trains to have at least 4 general class coaches. Similarly, during the year 2025-26 about 870 Coaches including 160 General Class and during the year 2026-27 (up to 30.06.2026) about 190 coaches including 20 general class coaches have been utilised for permanent augmentation. To cater to the travel demand of the low and middle income families, Indian Railways have taken up manufacturing of 17,000 non-AC coaches (general/sleeper). On IR, the percentage of non-AC coaches, is about 70% as indicated below: Non-AC coaches (general and sleeper) ~62,000 ~70% AC coaches ~27,000 ~30% Total coaches ~89,000 100% Distribution of coaches: Moreover, to provide greater accommodation for the passengers using General and non-AC Sleeper Coaches, the extant policy regarding composition of Mail/Express trains provides for 12 (Twelve) General class & Sleeper class non- AC coaches and 08 (eight) AC-Coaches, in a train of 22 coaches, thereby providing greater accommodation for the passengers using General and non-AC Sleeper Coaches. Page 2 of 6Further, to cater to the needs of passengers desirous of availing unreserved accommodation, Indian Railways (IR) operate unreserved non- AC passenger trains/ MEMU / EMU etc. for affordable travel, which are in addition to the unreserved accommodation (coaches) available in Mail/Express services. Amrit Bharat service: To provide affordable means of transportation to the low and middle income families, Indian Railways have introduced Amrit Bharat services that are fully non-AC modern trains. The present composition of Amrit Bharat consists of 11 General Class coaches, 8 Sleeper Class coaches, 01 Pantry Car and 02 Luggage cum Divyangjan coaches. High Speed and enhanced Safety standards are the hallmarks of these trains with following enhanced features and amenities:  Better aesthetics of seat and berths with enhanced look & feel on the lines of Vande Bharat Sleeper.  Jerk Free Semi-Automatic Couplers.  Improved Crashworthiness in coaches by provision of crash tube.  Provision of CCTV system in all coaches.  Improved designs of toilets.  Improved design of Ladder for ease of climbing on to the berth.  Improved LED Light fitting & Charging Sockets.  Provision of EP assisted braking system.  Aerosol based fire suppression system in toilets and electrical cubicles.  USB Type-A and Type-C mobile charging sockets.  Emergency Talk Back system for two-way communication between Passenger and Guard/Train Manager.  Non-AC pantry with enhanced heating capacity. Page 3 of 6 Fully sealed gangways with quick release mechanism for easy attachment and detachment. 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 Page 4 of 615 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 Page 5 of 634 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 ***** Page 6 of 6