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Railways' glass-top coach in Kashmir - all dressed up and nowhere to go
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SME Times News Bureau | 17 Aug, 2018
Awaiting the return of normalcy -- as well as tourists -- in the Kashmir
Valley, an indigenously-built vistadome (glass-top) railway coach,
though ready to run, has been docked at Badgam station for months.
The
40-seater vistadome coach was announced in June last year by then
Railway Minister Suresh Prabhu and was manufactured by the Integral
Coach Factory in Chennai at an estimated cost of abut Rs 4 crore.
The
see-through air-conditioned coach with large glass windows, glass roof,
observation lounge and rotatable seats, a first such service in the
state, aims to facilitate passengers to experience the breathtakingly
beautiful locations and sites en route the 135 km from Banihal to
Baramulla.
Keeping tourists in mind the seats are attached with
trays similar to those in airplanes for eating and passengers can order
light meals to be made available during the journey.
The
vistadome coach travelled all the way and was delivered at Badgam this
April. It was expected to be made operational in May, allowing visitors
to Kashmir to get a delightful view of the picturesque landscape of the
Valley.
"The prevailing situation is not right now to press
vistadome coach into service. It will be operational once the conditions
improve," a senior Railway Ministry official told IANS, not wishing to
be identified.
The specially-designed vistadome coach also has
double-wide reclining seats which can be rotated 360 degrees for a
panoramic view of the surroundings. It also has glass-domed ceilings,
automatic sliding doors, luggage racks, multiple LED screens for
entertainment and a GPS-enabled information system.
A step
towards boosting tourism, the vistadome coach was first introduced for
Araku valley in Vishakapatnam-Kirandul passenger train in April last
year, offering a panoramic view of the hills, valleys and an
exhilarating experience to tourists as it passes through tunnels.
The
second vistadome coach was attached to the Jan Shatabdi between Dadar
and Madgaon, on Mumbai-Goa route, in September last year.
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