No cut in unreserved coaches: Railways clear the air on Parasuram Express

The Parasuram Express is set to undergo a major coach change as its existing ICF coaches are replaced with modern LHB coaches. However, Railways have clarified that passengers who depend on unreserved travel will not face a reduction in the number of such coaches.

The Mangaluru-Kanyakumari Parasuram Express (16649) will switch to the LHB rake on September 22, while the Kanyakumari-Mangaluru service (16650) will make the transition on September 23.

According to the latest clarification from Railways, the new LHB formation will retain 16 unreserved coaches, including one SLR/SLRD coach.

The clarification follows an earlier note from the Palakkad Railway Division that had indicated a different coach composition. The initial information mentioned nine Second Sitting coaches, nine General Second Class coaches and two AC Chair Cars. This led to concerns that the number of unreserved coaches would be reduced.

A subsequent note clarified that the new formation would instead have 16 unreserved coaches.

The revised formation will comprise 21 coaches in total, including two AC Chair Cars, three Second Sitting coaches, 15 unreserved General coaches and one differently-abled-friendly coach.

The inclusion of the SLR/SLRD coach takes the total number of unreserved coaches to 16.

At present, the Parasuram Express operates with 23 coaches. These include three Second Sitting coaches with around 315 seats, 16 unreserved coaches providing around 1,680 seats, two Chair Car coaches with around 146 seats, along with SLR and SRD coaches.

The longer LHB coaches are expected to offer slightly more seating capacity per coach. Therefore, the number of unreserved coaches will remain unchanged even though the overall coach composition will change.

The confusion had gained attention because the earlier coach details appeared to show a reduction from 16 unreserved coaches to nine. The subsequent clarification from Railways has now addressed that concern.

The Parasuram Express is widely used by students, employees and other passengers travelling regularly along the route. Retaining 16 unreserved coaches is therefore significant for passengers who depend on the train for daily or frequent travel.

The shift to LHB coaches is part of the replacement of older ICF coaches with the newer coach design. While the coach type and overall formation will change, Railways have said that the number of unreserved coaches will not be reduced.

What actually changes?

The key change for Parasuram Express passengers is the coach design, not a reduction in unreserved coaches.

The initial railway note created confusion by mentioning nine General Second Class coaches. The subsequent clarification established that the LHB rake would have 16 unreserved coaches, including the SLR/SLRD coach.

The new formation will have fewer total coaches than the existing 23-coach formation, but the number of unreserved coaches will remain at 16. The LHB coaches are also longer and can accommodate slightly more passengers than the older ICF coaches.

For passengers, this means the earlier concern about losing around 700 unreserved seats does not apply to the final formation announced by Railways.