India Upgrades Trains: New LHB Coaches to Replace Outdated Garib Rath

Indian Railways is commencing a major upgrade of its passenger rolling stock, this is reported by the railway transport news portal Railway Supply.

As part of this initiative, new Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) economy-class coaches are set to replace the outdated Garib Rath trains.

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The new LHB trains will consist of 18 passenger coaches and two locomotives located at the ends of the train.

All coaches will be sleeping cars, featuring three tiers in width and two tiers in length.

For passenger convenience, the new coaches will have stairs for access to middle and upper berths, individual ventilation openings, reading lamps, and USB sockets.

The capacity of the new coaches will increase to 81 seats, compared to 72 seats in the old Garib Rath coaches.

Garib Rath trains were introduced in 2006.

Currently, 26 such trains operate in India, designed for 1676 mm gauge tracks and capable of speeds up to 130 km/h.

Unlike the new LHB coaches, many of the old coaches lack air conditioning systems.

The old trains include both three-tier and two-tier sleeping and seating coaches.

In early July 2024, the Indian Ministry of Railways also announced a plan to procure 10,000 non-air-conditioned passenger coaches by the end of March 2026.

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