Pulling in: The all-new AC 3-tier coach

But more often than not, the alignment of the two backrests don’t match, making the berth uncomfortable.

In the new coach, this problem has been solved by placing a thin, cushioned plank alongside the side-lower seats. After lowering the backrests, the passenger will have to slide the plank up to place it on top of the joined backrests for it to become a flat berth.

“This was one of the three hardest design challenges. How light the second plank should be, how should it be fitted in channels so that it slides up effortlessly and rests on top of the backrests — these were the tricky parts,” said Gupta.

Then there was the matter of providing charging points for every berth. Keeping the commercial viability in mind, the factory could not tinker with the number of berths — 72. But placing three-pin power sockets in the limited space available was not an option. So they went for USB ports. For every cabin of eight berths, there are two plug points and six USB ports.

“In trains, we have seen that people have a tendency to use their phones while they are being charged. That’s why we had to go for special capacitors for the ports so that they don’t heat up, or else it would have been a safety hazard,” said Anoop Kumar, Chief Design Engineer.

The ladder to the top berth has also undergone modifications to provide more secure grip, and each berth has been provided a reading light.

For the toilets, some inputs from a student of the National Institute of Design have been incorporated. The floor is made of a material which does not soil easily and the walls are graffiti resistant. The steel mug chained to a pipe has been replaced by a faucet.

The steel bangle-type water-bottle holder has been replaced by a slick, tiny plastic clip. The table comes with a covered dustbin, and the rack on top now also has a magazine shelf. These apart, the new coach has other add-ons, like CCTV cameras near doors, smoke detector alarms and tea-coffee vending machines.

The manufacturing cost of each coach is Rs 2.7 crore, about Rs 20 lakh more than an ordinary AC 3-tier coach.

With the all-ac-3-tier Humsafar Express’s fare about 15 per cent higher than Rajdhani fares, Indian Railways wants to create a new class of travel. “For AC 3tier, this is going to be the new normal in Indian Railways,” said Gupta.

While four rakes of Humsafar Express have already been rolled out without the modifications, Gupta said the “fifth rake will carry the real change this project is meant to showcase.”