Three cities in race for Swarna Shatabdi train

NEW DELHI, Nov 20: Swarna Shatabdi -- the luxury train launched by Indian Railways to celebrate 50 years of independence -- is being compare...

NEW DELHI, Nov 20: Swarna Shatabdi — the luxury train launched by Indian Railways to celebrate 50 years of independence — is being compared to the Miss Universe title, with three cities vying for it. The contenders being Chandigarh, Amritsar and Lucknow.

The matter would perhaps have to be referred to Union Railway Minister Nitish Kumar to take the final decision, sources say. The first Swarna Shatabdi was launched by Nitish Kumar on August 15, befittingly for Amritsar, the city of the Golden Temple. Another one was promised for Chandigarh. But now, the Railways finds itself in a fix with Amritsar and Lucknow also lobbying for the Swarna Shatabdi. Sources say that they have never seen such intense politicking for any other train.

The special rake for Swarna Shatabdi is expected to be ready for operation before March, 1999, but which will be the favoured city has not been decided. “The promise was to run the second Swarna Shatabdi to Chandigarh but then other cities started making the demand for thetrain. There is extreme pressure on the Railway authorities and the file is with the General Manager, Northern Railways,” an official disclosed.

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The Swarna Shatabdi has been provided with modern communication facilities including cellular telephones and fax on board. The Railways claim that it not only runs at a higher speed than the ordinary Shatabdi but also offers better riding experience with fewer jerks. Moreover, it is supposed to be more comfortable, have superior catering, original paintings by eminent artists and also two rail hostesses (comparable to air hostesses) for the Executive Class.

Sources say that Chandigarh may still win the race for the crown since the other two lines are extremely congested.

“Though it is more profitable for Railways to run the Swarna Shatabdi to Lucknow because it has the longest run (of seven hours) among the three. However, it is also the most congested route, not only because of number of passengers but also due to the transport of freight. TheDelhi-Ambala-Kalka route going to Amritsar is also congested. Though the Chandigarh route is also busy, it is comparatively better. Moreover, Amritsar already has one Swarna Shatabdi. So it might still be Chandigarh,” an official says.

Sources in the Railways say that the new design coaches — called the IRY coaches — are being specially manufactured for Swarna Shatabdi at the Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala, in collaboration with the Research, Design and Standards Organisation at Lucknow. While a single coach for the ordinary Shatabdi costs Rs 50 lakh, the Swarna Shatabdi IRY coach costs Railways Rs 73 lakh. With 10 coaches in the rake, the Swarna Shatabdi costs Railways over Rs seven crore.

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And on an average, the Railways are getting Rs 1.5 crore every month on the sale of the tickets. “Even if you include running costs, the Railways can make up for the cost in less than an year,” the official says. There are more Swarna Shatabdis on the anvil. But only after the first two are proved successfulin the longer run. If the IRY coaches — being tried and tested for the first time — do well, then the Railway authorities plan to continue the same design.

As an alternative, they have ordered the import of a coach, the design of which they plan to duplicate for the Swarna Shatabdi. “But that is only if our own IRY coaches do not do as well as expected,” the official adds.