Jamshedpur: The wait is over. Steel Superfast Express with the new state-of-the-art German-designed LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) coaches will chug out from Howrah to Tatanagar on June 11.
The train with 22 new robin blue coaches will ferry passengers from Tatanagar to Howrah the next day, officials at Garden Reach, the Calcutta-based headquarters of South Eastern Railway said on Wednesday.
The new LHB coaches have advanced braking system for increased safety at higher speeds and are anti-telescopic, meaning they do not flip even if the train derails or suffers a collision.
"The new coaches will ensure comfortable journey for passengers between the two destinations. On-board catering services will be available as usual," Sanjay Ghosh, chief public relations officer of South Eastern Railway, told The Telegraph on Wednesday.
He said the train would have nine 2nd class chair car (reserved), six 2nd class chair car (unreserved), three AC chair cars, one AC first class, one AC three-tier and pantry car and a power-cum-generator car.
According to Ghosh, there will be no changes in the fare structure, but there will be a slight change in the composition of the train from July 1. Instead of the AC three-tier coach, the number of AC chair cars will be increased from three to four.
In February this year, the Railway Board had communicated its decision to replace the train's conventional coaches with swanky LHB ones manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory at Perambur, Chennai.
Passengers are happy.
"I can't wait to board the train. I have some office work in Calcutta. So, I will definitely buy a ticket on June 11 from Tatanagar to Howrah," Tata Steel official Sanjay Patel said.
Another regular traveller and Adityapur-based industrialist Gurudas Ray said, "Happy to know that Steel Superfast Express, the most popular train between Jamshedpur and Calcutta, has got LHB coaches that are safe. Looking forward to a comfortable journey between the two destinations."
Currently, three other trains passing through Tatanagar - New Delhi-Bhubaneswar Rajdhani Express and Pune and Mumbai-bound Duronto Express - have LHB coaches.
