Railway Seat Availability to Improve: Indian Railways Announces Major Expansion of Non-AC Coaches

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Parliament that Indian Railways has increased the number of non-AC coaches in trains to approximately 70 percent. A plan is in place to manufacture an additional 17,000 non-AC general and sleeper coaches over the next five years to ensure easier seat availability for passengers.

Good news for passengers! It will now be easier to find seats in general compartments. The railway department has provided a major update in this regard.

Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw informed Parliament on Wednesday that Indian Railways has significantly increased the number of non-AC coaches in trains.

The number of non-AC compartments in trains has increased to approximately 70 percent. Furthermore, a special manufacturing program is being launched to build an additional 17,000 non-AC general and sleeper coaches over the next 5 years.

Indian Railways Runs Trains with a Large Number of General Compartments

The Railway Minister stated that during the last financial year 2024-25 alone, 1,250 general coaches were used in various long-distance trains.

Indian Railways is running a large number of trains with affordable fares, including mail, express, and passenger trains, for the benefit of the general public, including the poor and lower middle class.

The Minister stated that Indian Railways has also included non-AC compartments in trains like Amrit Bharat and Namo Bharat Rapid Rail, which will greatly benefit the lower-income group. He further added that Indian Railways is working on building 100 more Amrit Bharat trains.

The Railway Minister said that due to the increased availability of general compartments, the number of passengers travelling in general/unreserved compartments has also increased, rising from 553 crore in 2022-23 to 609 crore in 2023-24 and 651 crore in 2024-25.

Number of Non-AC Seats Reaches 5.4 Million

The Railway Minister stated that the number of seats available for passengers in non-AC compartments has now reached 5.4 million (54 lakh), which is 78 percent of the total number. AC seats account for 22 percent.

The Minister further explained that the railway has made special arrangements for passengers using general and non-AC sleeper coaches. Each mail/express train has a total of 22 compartments. This now includes 12 general and sleeper class non-AC coaches and 8 AC coaches.

The Railway Minister stated that Indian Railways has introduced fully non-AC Amrit Bharat trains, which currently include 11 general compartments, 8 sleeper class compartments, 1 pantry car, and 2 second-class compartments including luggage vans and compartments for the differently-abled. These trains have been introduced to enable passengers to travel long distances at affordable rates.