Ranchi: The Ranchi railway division is facing a problem of coaches in Ranchi-New Delhi Rajdhani Express and Ranchi-New Delhi Sampark Kranti Express.

Half a dozen new coaches of these trains, marked sick, were taken to the Delhi railway workshop for repair two months ago, but are yet to be returned to Ranchi division. Though the sick coaches were replaced, railway sources who did not want to be named said the substitutes were not on a par with the original ones.

Ranchi division officials on record denied that replaced coaches were sub-par and said the originally allotted coaches would be returned after repair.

Senior divisional commercial manager of Ranchi Avinash Kumar on Thursday also clarified to this paper that a section of the media grossly misinterpreted the 'missing coach' terminology used by the railways in their internal communication among divisions.

"We use the term 'missing coach' in our internal communication if there is delay in repair and return. This was wrongly misinterpreted by a few people (read media) believing that these coaches are either traceless or stolen. A coach is not a bike or a car that gets stolen. We have a system at division and central levels to keep a record of each coach and the division that owns them," he said.

He added they had communicated with respective divisions where these coaches were under repair and sought a status report.

"Safety and comfort of passengers during journey are our top priority. Before use, every coach is minutely examined by a team of engineers and technicians to ensure fitness and suspension. Repair and replacement are routine matters. We will soon get back the coaches," the senior DCM said.

Explaining the process of coach allotment, he said, "The railway ministry allots a certain number of coaches to every division for trains that originate from any station within the said division. Before the to-and-fro operation each coach is technically examined. If a technical fault coach is found, the coach marked as sick and sent for repair. Sick coaches are replaced. The division concerned (where the fault is discovered) is supposed to make the repairs and return the coach to the division originally allotted that coach. Sometimes a delay is made in repair and return."

A senior official further clarified that missing coaches did not mean that number of coaches in both the trains were less now. "Ranchi New Delhi Rajdhani Express has 20 coaches whereas the number of coaches in Ranchi-New Delhi Sampark Kranti Express varies between 16 and 19 depending on rush," he said.