Bullet train to have many firsts for passengers

new delhi — Delay in acquiring land for the upcoming Mumbai-Ahmedabad high-speed rail corridor project may push back the date of its launch, but the Railways is going ahead in finalising the various components of the bullet train’s rolling stock and passenger facilities.

Passengers will get a dedicated room for child feeding, there will be facilities for sick persons and washrooms for men and women would be separate — all these being firsts on the Indian rail network. Each train will have 55 seats for business class and 695 seats for standard class. There will be luggage space for passengers.

The E5 Shinkansen series bullet trains to be pressed into service will also have baby changing rooms comprising baby toilet seats, tables for diaper disposal and a low sink for children for washing hands.

There will be also two extra-spacious toilets for wheelchair-bound passengers in the 10-coach highspeed train.

According to the blueprint finalised by the Railways, the 750-seater E5 Shinkansen, a new generation Japanese high-speed train, will also introduce wall mounted type urinals for men, according to a senior Railway Ministry official involved with the Rs1,000 billion project.

Urinals and toilets will be installed in alternate coaches in the train. For example, toilets will be installed in coach number 1, 3, 5, 7 and 9 while urinals will be available in coach number 2, 4, 6 and 8.

Washrooms for men and women will also be placed in a similar way.

Coaches will have comfortable automatic seat rotation system.

There will be a freezer, hot case, boiling water facility and tea and coffee maker in the train while a hand towel warmer will be provided in business class.

All coaches will have LCD

screens to display current station, next stopping station and destination, schedule and expected time to reach next stop and destination stations.

Railways is gearing up to acquire 25 E5 series bullet trains from Japan at an estimated cost of about Rs50 billion for the Modi government’s first bullet train project. —