Mahamana Express to finally get swankier AC-3 tier coaches! Here’s an exclusive sneak peek

Mahamana Express set to get AC-3 tier coaches! One very obvious thing that passengers travelling on the Mahamana Express would have missed is the AC-3 tier coach. Since January 2016, Indian Railways has rolled out three Mahamana Express superfast trains - Varanasi-Delhi-Varanasi, Bhopal-Khajuraho-Bhopal and the recently flagged off Varanasi-Vadodara-Varanasi train. None of these have AC-3 tier coaches - but that's set to change with two AC-3 tier coaches ready! We take a look at some exclusive images of the new refurbished coach and its features:

Sources in Indian railways told FE Online that one coach will be attached to the new Mahamana Express on the Varanasi-Vadodara route. The new coach has been given a mid-life refit at the Coach Rehabilitation Workshop in Bhopal.

As the images suggest, the refurbishing of the AC-3 tier coach for Mahamana Express has been done on the lines of the upgraded Humsafar Express.

All sleeper berths in the new AC-3 tier coach have been made more comfortable and fire retardant material has been used.

In a space of 8 berths as many as 6 mobile/laptop charging points have been provided, as against two in the conventional AC-3 tier coaches.

Like the upgraded Humsafar Express, the new AC-3 tier coach also addresses a long standing complaint of passengers who sleep on the lower side berth. The new coach has a detachable board that can be placed on top after joining the two side seats. The move is meant to take care that passengers do not suffer from a backache.

The modular bio-toilet has a wash-basin platform and a baby seat/diaper changing seat! The toilet module has been changed as per the ICF design to eliminate the problem of water logging.

The area outside the toilet has a modular wash basin with a big mirror.

The coach has LED lights with berth number stickers. It also boasts of GPS-based passenger information system.

The ladder that one takes to upper berths has been redesigned keeping in mind passengers' convenience.

The coaches boast of thermoplastic panels without visible screws for better safety and aesthetics. The berths have been ergonomically designed. The texture of rexene has also been changed to prevent dust ingress.

The Mahamana Express was initially conceptualised as a train that has been made by modifying seven types of coaches. The model rakes that have been developed are a "refurbished and re-adapted" version of seven types of coaches which have been in use by Indian Railways for the past 10-12 years.