The non-stop Duronto trains will no longer have old coaches with side-middle berth, known as AC economy class.
The Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto express and the Bhubaneswar-Delhi Duronto scheduled to be launched shortly will not have any AC economy class coach. They will have only AC and non-AC coaches.
AC economy class fare is Rs. 50 less than the AC III class.
“Now onwards, all new Duronto trains will be without AC economy class as we have decided to discontinue it. As per our feedback, it seems to be causing inconvenience to passengers,” sources in railways said.
Initially, there was also no plan for AC economy class in Duronto.
“Since new coaches could not be ready for the early launch of Duronto trains, these old coaches with middle side berths were made available to meet the deadline,” the sources said.
However, the existing AC economy class coaches in some Duronto trains like Sealdah-New Delhi, Mumbai-Howrah and Pune-Nizamuddin Duronto trains will continue for some time before they are being phased out.
The Nagpur-Mumbai Duronto coaches are ready for roll out with its inaugural run scheduled for early next month.
