New Delhi, Sep 21 (PTI) The Railways earned Rs 231 crore revenue in the first 12 months from its subsidised air-conditioned "economy" class coaches, data showed, setting aside apprehension that these would have dented the earnings from the more profitable, the normal 3AC class.

The "economy" class travel, targeted to draw in sleeper class passengers toward the "cheapest and the best AC travel", gives the common man a taste of air-conditioned journey at a rate six to seven percent lower than the regular 3-AC class.

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More than 21 lakh passengers availed the benefits of the the AC 3-tier economy class, bringing the Railways a revenue of Rs 231 crore between August 2021 and August 2022, the data showed.

The introduction of these coaches were tricky for the railways, officials said, as a balance had to be maintained to ensure that its fares are not too high, thus defeating the purpose of the new modern high speed coaches.

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It also had to be kept in mind that it couldn't be too low, as then it would eat into the highly profitable class -- 3AC-Tier.

The experiment seems to have paid off, the data suggests.

During April-August 2022, more than 15 lakh passengers availed the benefits of the new economy class travel, earning the Railways a revenue of Rs 177 crore.

During the same period, there has been no dip in the number of passengers using the normal 3AC class with almost seven crore travelling, bringing the Railways a revenue of Rs 8,240 crore.

This is up from five crore passengers Rs 5,987 crore in the pre-pandemic year of 2019-2020 during the corresponding period..

The new 3-AC economy class coaches have 83 berths as against 72 in the regular 3-AC coaches -- an increase of 15%. The regular 3AC coaches have two side berths, which have been be increased to three in the new coaches.

So far, the Railways has inducted 370 such coaches, but with the demand soaring sky high, more are likely to be added, officials said.

The coaches are specially designed for the convenience of divyangs, specially-abled passengers.

These coaches are equipped with modern amenities and add-ons like mobile phones and magazine holders and fire safety. Personal reading lights, AC vents, USB points, mobile charging points, better ladder to climb to the upper berth and snack table are some of the key features.

(The above story is verified and authored by Press Trust of India (PTI) staff. PTI, India’s premier news agency, employs more than 400 journalists and 500 stringers to cover almost every district and small town in India.. The views appearing in the above post do not reflect the opinions of LatestLY)