|
|
Cindysmotel.Freeservers
|
| Passenger
services Indian Railways operates 8,702 passenger trains and transports around five billion annually across twenty-seven states and three union territories (Delhi, Pondicherry and Chandigarh). Sikkim is the only state not connected. The passenger division is the most preferred form of long distance transport in most of the country. In South India and North-East India however, buses are the preferred mode of transport for medium to long distance transport. A standard passenger train consists of eighteen coaches, but some popular trains can have up to twenty-four coaches. Coaches are designed to accommodate anywhere from eighteen to seventy-two passengers, but may actually accommodate many more during the holiday seasons and on busy routes. The coaches in use are vestibules, but some of these may be dummied on some trains for operational reasons. Freight trains use a large variety of wagons. Each coach has different accommodation class; the most popular being the sleeper class. Up to nine of these type coaches are usually coupled. Air conditioned coaches are also attached, and a standard train may have between three to five air-conditioned coaches. Overcrowding is the most widely faced problem with Indian Railways. In the holiday seasons or on long weekends, trains are usually packed more then their prescribed limit. Ticket-less travel which results in large losses for the IR is also an additional problem faced.
|