June 16, 2008

Coach Gyaan

If u already do not know, then let me tell you that I'm a major fan of the Indian Railways. And people around me make it a point to tell me about the rickety state of the coaches they travelled in, some going to the extent of telling me that the coach they travelled in was probably of Independence era.

Unfortunately for them, I dont buy the statement. As a policy, no coach more than 25 years old runs on tracks in Indian Railways. Now how does one know how old the coach is? Some coaches do have the manufacturers plate near the vestibules, but not all. Then? Its simple. All one has to do is check the coach number printed on the outside of the coach. The first two digits give you the year of manufacture. A number which reads 04028 is a coach manufactured in 2004. A coach numbered 96286 is 1996 product.



Now, the year of manufacture does not give the state of a coach. Each coach undergoes an overhaul every year. This includes checking and repairing of suspension, broken seats and uphostery, electricals, etc and a paint job. Its a complete overhaul and not just a service. So a coach just out of overhaul is as good as a new one. How does one know when it has undergone an overhaul? Just check the back of a coach near the vestibule.. you will have the month of overhaul with the date of return for the next.



I also see a lot of people fumbling to find their seat numbers in the coach. They do not know which end to go in from. An indicator near the coach door should be of some help.



A lot of people who travel AC 2 Tier might find themselves allotted a coach which reads HA-1. Now they fumble hopelessly to find their seats in there. HA-1 is a Composite First AC and AC 2 tier coach, half of each. There are two charts on the coach, on near each door, one entrance for AC First Class and the other 2 Tier AC. Suit your reservations!!

If you are still at sea and have a coach thats pretty bad and unclean, you can complain to the Senior Section Engineer, Coaching and Wagons, Division (SC here is Secunderabad) as indicated on the destination boards of a coach!


Happy Journey !!


21 comments:

Pramod said...

Finding the age of the coach was new for me, but the rest - Commonsense!!!! Its not extinct yet is it!!! ;);)

Loved the writeup on CommonSense!!!

And 5 mins!!!! I say that to myself (as of now) :D:D:D:D

Cinderella said...

I love travelling in trains too...hate hate hate flights big time. They are so damn uncomfortable with the pressure differences and all !!!

And this post was fantabulous ! The info was sure worth a readers attention..thnx !

ranga said...

Vrij Bhai...looks like the first pic is that of a HA coach or a composite 1st AC and 2nd AC coach.

The last three digits denotes the serial number of this coach for this type for the particular year (denoted in the first two digits).

In short 04028 means the coach is the second HA coach to be manufactured in 2004! 026-050 is a series reserved for AC composite coaches. 001-025 is for AC First Class coaches.
51-100 - 2nd AC
101-150 - 3rd AC
151-200 - AC Chair Car
201-400 - Sleeper class

No idea about the rest.

But then, I presume you knew this. I remember you filing me this info in Bangalore a long time ago :-)

Aarti said...

Awesome post Vrij.. i dint know the manufacture year, and the overhauling details... :)

I love travelling by train.. more fun than flights...

Unknown said...

hey Vrij
not for nothing do i call u the trainman:D u are a mine of information on the Railways. i really loved the whole gyaan u posted on the blog. i will definitely try and boast about it to friends:D
heres a thing, next time i travel by the trains, long dist, ill make a whole list of questions, and put them across to u:d iske do faayde hai, A)ill get my doubts cleared. B) you will have enough fodder for your blog posts, wich in turn will educate a hell lot more people:D and thus increase their respect towards the Great Indian Railways:D
take care
ciao

lukkydivz said...

wow, itna sara gyaan mila padke !!

Pavi!!!! said...

wooooooow! that's a lot u know abt the Railways..Very interesting info..Thank u.

n yes..i love travellin by train as well. I cld do w/o the smells n dirt..but hec..its alrite...im not fond of flights...I'll be on a train in a weeks time..yayeeeeeee!

Mysterious Mia said...

i enjoy travelling by the train specially to the hill stations

aneri_masi said...

wow! that was a lot of good info!

Anonymous said...

You truly are a great fan! I'll give you that! :)

Ankur said...

INFORMATIVE!!!!

kewl :)

Cheers!!!

Keshi said...

I travel by trains alot...love em!

Keshi.

Sriram said...

well we railfans do stand a step higher, dont we?
How about a post asking people not to call a loco an "engine" and detailing 200xx is a WDP4, 22xxx is a WAP4. 111xx is a WDM3D, etc etc!

Loved ur blog... bookmarking!

And this is Sriram, TVC, SR :)

Fighter Jet said...

Ha ha ha...
good gyan!
Even I like travelling by train..
and have travelled alot by train.In fact I prefer train to flights....and really enjoy long journeys in train....provided i have the compnay of family.

RiĆ  said...

Another of ur very interesting posts!quite like ur fascination with the railways. :) Very unique n different. :D

Solitaire said...

Great information. Hope I can remember it by the time I go to India. Vaise if you had not written this post, where else could we have gotten this information from?

Vrijilesh Rai said...

@ Pramod

Thanx dude.. common sense though not yet completely extinct, is now an endangered species.

And when are u gonna say 5 mins to someone else?


@ Cindy

Oh yeah, trains are special! Thanx


@ Ranga

Yep this was the HA-1 coach of 7017 TJT-SC exp that I clicked. Of course I know this info, but then this blog has readership other than railfans too.. so wanted a bit of minimalism.. hehe..

And reg the rest, 400-600 GS/2S, 700-800 SLR, 800+ RA, others.


@ Aaarti

Thanx :)


@ TD

Thax dude.. and great idea.. folks can jot down their doubts, and I'll clear them here..


@ Divs

Thans :)


@ Pavi

Thanx. Good to know that ud be travelling by train soon.. hopefully, thats in India!


@ Mia

Oh yep.. rides up the hills is too good!!


@ Kashmira

Thanx :)


@ Javits

Thanks and welcome to this place :)

@ Ankur

Thanx buddy!

@ Keshi

Thats cool..


@ Sriram

Welcome here.. yeah, I'm slowly trying to educate the junta.. but dont wanna give too much details..


@ Fighter Jet

Thanx and Welcome here. Great to know that a majority here love to travel by train!

@ Ria

Thanx Ria for the compliments.

@ Sol

Thank You. Dont worry, even if you forget this, you can get loads more information at a website called www.irfca.org which is the Brittanica for all railfans in India!

Anonymous said...

More train related posts please

rantravereflect/ jane said...

heee wowwww. ya seems to be lallu's big-time brains behind teh trains ;)';)

i lurv them trians-- yippppeee!!!
n ya didnt tell us abt the emergency pull man!! i love tat the best :)

Sameera Ansari said...

I love traveling by Indian Railways too!There is some charm in it which no first class flight can ever have :)

Shriram Sharma said...

Bhut Funny h yaar Very nice