Kochi: The Indian Railways has fixed the ticket fares for the new three-tier AC Economy Class coach which was launched in February in order to offer more comfort to the common people who often book for the Second-Class coaches.
The fares indicate that the new class that comes between the current AC Three-Tier and non-AC Sleeper Class would be "economical".
For long-distance journeys, the fares will be lower than that of the Third AC coach. But the ticket fare for the first 300km would be Rs 440 in the AC Economy Class, the same fare as that of the Third AC type.
While the existing three-tier Third AC coaches have 72 berths, the new economy coach will have 81 berths.
For long-distance trains, these new coaches will be used instead of the regular sleeper coaches.
The Railways plans to roll out over 800 AC Economy Class coaches. The Mumbai Division has got all the 27 coaches allotted in the first phase. The AC Economy Class coaches for trains originating in Kerala will be allotted later.
Here are the fares for popular routes within Kerala (via the Kottayam route). The superfast surcharge, reservation, tax and cess are not included in the base rate:
