VISAKHAPATNAM: The long-awaited
Vistadome
coaches are likely to arrive at
Visakhapatnam railway station
in the next couple of days. Waltair division sources said one of the two coaches will arrive in two days, while the second coach designated for Vizag will arrive by the end of this month.
Railway sources said the trial run of the Vistadome coaches is expected to be taken up by the end of this month. The cost of coaches is around Rs 4 crore for four coaches. Two coaches are assigned to run on the
Vizag-Araku
route, whereas the remaining two are meant for Jammu and Kashmir.
Sources said the regular train running on the Vizag-Araku route usually takes about three hours and a half due to a large number of stoppages en route. It has not been decided if the Vizag-Araku train with Vistadome coaches will run as a special train or will be attached to the existing train.
"We have not yet decided whether to introduce a special train as taking the Vistadome coaches up to Kirandul may not be feasible. The advantage of having a special train of just the Vistadome coaches will be that it may be run twice in a day to cater to tourists. However, a final decision is expected only after the trial run takes place between Vizag and Araku," a railway official said. Sources said railways would be looking ideally at running the train during day time and also look at bringing the coaches back before nightfall.
While tourists can beat the ensuing summer heat due to the air-conditioned coaches, they will also be able to enjoy the view of the valley through the roof and large windows of the coach, which also is expected to have revolving chairs.
The Vistadome coaches are expected to have a capacity of around 40 to 50 passengers. Also, the fares for the Vistadome coaches would be finalised soon after the trial runs are carried out between Vizag and Araku, sources said.
The coaches are manufactured at the
Integral Coach Factory
in Perambur, Chennai.
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