Innovative new design for Indian Railways berths! As an Indian Railways passenger, you would have often faced issues in climbing on to the middle and upper berths in trains. The good news is that soon this issue may get solved with a new technological innovation developed by a team of PhD scholars and professors from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Kanpur. Right now, the ergonomic retractable stair design is in the proposal stage, and the implementation of the technology in trains will happen if it gets approval from Indian Railways.
As stated above, the team from IIT Kanpur comprises faculty members and PhD students who have worked on an ergonomic retractable stair design for Indian Railways train berths. The retractable stairs will be able to facilitate a smooth and more comfortable way to climb onto the middle and upper berths in train coaches for passengers.
Kaniska Biswas, PhD in Design Program, IIT Kanpur, who is the chief innovator of the retractable stairs told Financial Express Online that the design patent has received approval. “Our team is now approaching Indian Railways for a possible deployment of the technology,” Kaniska Biswas told Financial Express Online. According to the team, the new design will especially be helpful for passengers who are senior citizens or women wearing saris.
Talking about the design of the stairs, Biswas explained that the stair design has three retractable steps and a locking mechanism. The lock of the stairs can be accessed from both the standing position while climbing up as well as from the middle and upper berths while climbing down. Under the proposed new design, the steps are aligned in a zigzag orientation and are of varying width in order to accommodate the three steps in a small space.
While Kanika Biswas is the main inventor of the technology, the other co-inventors are Pushpal Dey, Master of Design, IIT Kanpur, Esha Ray, PhD Earth Science, IIT Kanpur), Dr Bishakh Bhattacharya, Professor in Mechanical Engineering department and the Center for Cognitive Science, IIT Kanpur and Dr Tarun Gupta, Professor in Civil Engineering and Design, IIT Kanpur.
