Vistadome coaches

Why in news?

• Prime Minister Narendra Modi flagged off eight trains from different parts of the country to Kevadia in Narmada district, where the Statue of Unity is located.
• Out of these eight trains, the Janshatabdi Express from Ahmedabad-has a Vistadome coach, which is gaining a lot of attention.

What is a Vistadome coach?

• The Vistadome coach is a state-of-the-art coach made by Indian Railways, designed to provide passengers with travel comfort as well as an enhanced viewing experience of their surroundings.
• Some of the features of the Vistadome coach are an observation lounge with a large window for passengers to experience scenic routes to tourist places along with glass rooftops that offer a panoramic view.
• The seats are recliner model rotatable seats and ensure people can enjoy the view from both windows to their right and left and there are automatic sliding doors at both gates of the coach.
• The coach also has foldable snack tables, seat numbers with Braille language, an in-built entertainment along with a GPS-based public-address-cum passenger information system, access to ‘content on demand’ for passengers through Wi Fi facility on their personal gadgets, a mini pantry with coffee maker, water cooler, hot oven and refrigerator, separate multi-tier luggage compartment, along with a separate cabin for train staff who will brief passengers regarding the coach in each ride.
• The coach will also have CCTV surveillance, fire alarm system and an LED destination board.

About the new coaches:

• Vistadome coach in the Janshatabdi Express has been manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, Tamil Nadu.
• It is for the first time that the Vistadome coach has been made on the Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) platform, made for passenger coaches for trains in India.

PRELIMS QUESTION

Consider the following statements regarding Vista dome coaches of Indian railways:
1.These coaches are manufactured in India.
2.They are primarily intended to promote tourism sites.
Which of the statements given above is/are correct?
(a)1 only
(b)2 only     
(c)Both 1 and 2
(d)Neither 1 nor 2

Answer to Prelims Question