Indian Railways Goes Hi-Tech, Introduces 'Smart Coaches' For Mumbai Rajdhani Express

In a paradigm shift by Indian Railways for enhancing the travel experience for passengers, the public transporter has started rolling out upgraded Tejas smart coaches, equipped with intelligent sensor-based systems for Rajdhani Express.

The bright golden hued coaches, with enhanced smart features are being introduced to run railway's prestigious Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani Express train.

The train with modern amenities, which is the first-of-its-kind to be introduced over the Indian Railways, made its maiden run from Monday.

"This new rake made its maiden run from Monday, July 19, 2021. The existing rakes of Mumbai-New Delhi Rajdhani Special Express, one of the most prestigious and premium trains have been replaced with brand new Tejas-type sleeper coaches," according to the Railways.

Two such Tejas-type sleeper coach rakes have been made ready to run as Rajdhani Express. Out of these two rakes, one rake comprises exclusive Tejas smart sleeper coaches, which is the first-of-its-kind to be introduced by the Indian Railways.

The new train will have special smart features for enhanced passenger safety and comfort. The smart coach aims to provide world-class facilities to passengers with the help of intelligent sensor-based systems.

It is equipped with the passenger Information and Coach Computing Unit (PICCU) provided with GSM network connectivity, which reports to the remote server.

"With the use of Tejas Smart Coach, the Indian Railways aims to move to predictive maintenance instead of preventive maintenance. The introduction of this modern Tejas sleeper-type train for long distance journey, is another paradigm shift by the Indian Railways for enhancing the travel experience for passengers," the statement said.

With the introduction of smart coaches, a new era of train travel experience with enhanced comfort is being rolled out.

"Indian Railways is committed to realising our PM @narendramodi ji’s vision to provide world-class facilities to our passengers. Today, Mumbai Rajdhani Express starts to run with new upgraded Tejas-type Smart Sleeper coaches," Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said in a tweet.

Among others, for the enhanced safety of passengers, six cameras are fitted in each coach which gives live recording. CCTV cameras with day night vision capability, facial recognition even in low-light condition, and network Video Recorders.

The new smart coaches are equipped with automatic plug doors and all the main entrance doors are centralised, controlled by the guard. The train will not start until all doors are closed.

Other features in the new smart coaches include a fire alarm, detection and suppression system, emergency talk back for medical or security emergency, panic button in lavatories, toilet annunciation sensor integration (which will relay dos and don'ts announcements in the lavatories, whenever it is engaged), bio-vacuum toilet system, stainless steel under-frame, air suspension coaches, among others.