The Integral Coach Factory will be rolling out 415 Deen Dayalu coaches before the end of the year and 15 of them before the end of this month. The manufacture of these coaches, at the Integral Coach Factory in Perambur, was announced during the Railway Budget this year. These coaches will be deployed exclusively in long-distance trains in unreserved compartments.
Official sources said the coach had several additional features compared to the conventional general second class and even second class sleeper coaches and hence the cost of manufacture was slightly higher than the normal coaches. The cost of manufacturing a Deen Dayalu Coach is about Rs. 98 lakh each, while it cost about Rs. 93 lakh to manufacture the conventional general second class coaches.
According to them, they had manufactured only one Deen Dayalu coach so far and it was flagged off to New Delhi by the end of June. The same coach was unveiled by the Railway Minister at the national capital a couple of days ago.
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Despite improved amenities on the coaches, including mobile recharge points in all the bays, two fire extinguishers, and water purifiers, the cost of travel in these coaches would not be increased, officials said.
Officials also hoped the new coaches would make commuting more comfortable.