Project Utkrisht: Taking another step towards development, Indian Railways upgrades another rake under its Project Utkrisht! From now on, travelling between Okha-Varanasi and Okha-Jaipur to get more comfortable and convenient for passengers. The Rajkot Division of Western Railway zone rolled out its first upgraded rake under Project Utkrisht from Okha railway station in Gujarat on March 28, 2019. According to Western Railways, with this rake upgradation step, railway passengers, travelling on train number 22969/22970 Okha-Varanasi Express and train number 19573/19574 Okha-Jaipur Express will be able to avail the upgraded facilities along with better travel experience.
Under Project Utkrisht, Piyush Goyal-chaired Railway Ministry is upgrading the ICF-design coaches of identified rakes by equipping them with various modern facilities and passenger-friendly amenities. Some of the salient features of the upgraded rakes under Project Utkrisht are the vinyl wrapping of doorway and gangway, fire extinguishers, coaches with new colour scheme, mirrors, dustbins, stainless steel paneling inside the pantry car, LED panel lighting, toilets with soap containers, auto janitor, exhaust fans, mug holder etc.
Indian Railways under Project Utkrisht is aiming to revamp the rakes of as many as 140 Mail/Express trains at a cost of Rs 60 lakh per rake. A total of 500 more trains will be upgraded under this initiative in the next financial year.
Recently, the rake of Darjeeling Mail train, which operates under the Eastern Railway zone was given a new makeover under Project Utkrisht. The train now boasts several passenger-friendly facilities and amenities, providing better comfort and journey experience to passengers. Also, train number 16181/16182 bi-weekly Chennai-Sengottai Silambu Express was recently upgraded with many modern features under Project Utkrisht.
Meanwhile, Indian Railways is replacing ICF design coaches with new LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) coaches. In the upcoming fiscal year, the national transporter aims to replace as many as 120 ICF design train rakes with LHB coach trains. The production of ICF design coaches has already been stopped by the Railway Ministry.