Piyush Goyal shares video of Vistadome coaches promising 'unforgettable travel experience'

In the latest boost to the Indian Railways, new Vistadome tourist coaches have been unveiled by Union Minister Piyush Goyal on December 30 who shared a short clip introducing the luxurious coach manufactured by Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. Calling it ending 2020 on a “great note” to noting the importance of the journey, the Union Minister has previously also announced that Indian Railways have completed 180 kmph speed trial of the newest coaches aimed at making travel more ‘memorable’. Prime Minister Narendra Modi also hailed the Vistadome tourist coaches as “comfort” in combination with “cutting-edge technology”.

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Modifications in the Vistadome coaches

From glass rooftops to wide windows offering a panoramic view, the new Vistadome coaches now part of the Indian railways are primarily built to provide elevated sight-seeing experience for the tourists. As of now, Indian Railways have incorporated 13 Vistadome coaches that will be operating in select routes including Dadar and Madgaon, Araku Valley, Kashmir Valley, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway among others.

These coaches also have observation windows at the end, they even have rotatable seats, passenger information system, automatic sliding doors along with a mini pantry and wide doors for physically challenged tourists, said the railway ministry.  In a separate statement released earlier this year, it was also disclosed that the manufacturing cost of a single Vistadome coach is nearly Rs 4 crore. The coach has 44 seats for passengers with rotation up to 180 degrees along with a Wi-Fi-based passenger information system.

In terms of the safety measures, in addition to the already existing services, the new coaches have shatter-resistant glasses and a film coating for passenger safety. The Vistadome coaches also have an air-spring suspension in secondary stage for ride comfort of the travellers. It not only has mobile charging socket for each passenger but also an entertainment system that is reportedly integrated with digital display screens and speakers.

The Union Minister even announced the resumption of the Nilgiri Mountain Railway services in Tamil Nadu along with a successful trial of an electric locomotive on the recently unveiled electrified rail line running between Bangaon and Petrapole in West Bengal. Further, as two Vistadome coaches have been rolled out presently, others will be finished before March 31 next year.

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