Listen up! Sources say the Railway Budget would include announcement of an extra general coach in trains

According to sources, an extra General coach will be provided in all trains in the country except the premier ones like the Rajdhani or the Shatabdi, in a major step to provide relief to passengers.

The announcement is likely to be made in the coming railway budget.

Sources said the government's idea is to help the common man travel in case of emergencies - no reservation will be required to travel in the general compartment.

Currently all trains have two to four general compartments, in each of which around 90 people can travel instead of the usual 72 in a sleeper coach.

The plan is based on the concept of Antyodaya - the philosophy of Deendayal Upadhyay, which talks of the upliftment of people who are on the lowest rungs of society.

Sources said the new coach will be attached at the end of the trains.

Fitting in the new coaches, however, can be a tricky issue, they said. Rules say a train can't have more than 24 coaches, so in many trains one coach might have to be removed to fit in the general compartment.

One suggestion has been to remove existing Air Conditioned sleeper coaches, but it not economically viable.

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