Good News! Garib Rath Express Not To Be Discontinued; Indian Railways Issues This Statement

Refuting the claims of shutting down 'Garib Rath' Express trains across the country, the Indian Railways on Friday stated that there are no such proposal to discontinue the trains.

Garib Rath which translates to 'Poor Man's Chariot' is touted to be the poor man's no-frills AC train. (Image: Getty)

New Delhi: Refuting the claims of shutting down 'Garib Rath' Express trains across the country, the Indian Railways on Friday stated that there are no such proposal to discontinue the trains. In a statement the Railway Ministry said, "It is clarified that there is no proposal to discontinue Garib Rath services on Indian Railways." The ministry said that there are 26 pairs of Garib Rath services in operation. "These are very popular services as they facilitate air-conditioned travel at fares which are lower than the normal AC-3 tier fares," it said. Over the recent past, several media reports claim that the Ministry of Railways is planning to shut down operations of Garib Rath trains across the country. Several such reports claimed that Garib Rath trains will either be completely phased out or will be converted into mail or express trains. Even it was said that Railway Ministry has already asked to stop making of new coaches for  Garib Rath Express trains. Garib Rath which translates to 'Poor Man's Chariot' is touted to be the poor man's no-frills AC train. Started in 2006 by the then Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav, Garib Ratth trains was aimed to prove no frill AC three-tier train rides for people of middle and lower-income classes. The first 'Garib Rath' was flagged off from Bihar's Saharsa to Amritsar in Punjab.  Further, the Railway Ministry also said the Express train will continue to run as usual. The rumours of Garib Rath trains being discontinued started floating after Railways halted operations of two trains - Kathgodam-Jammu Tawi and Kanpur-Kathgodam. Clarifying the issue,  Railways has stated that owing to temporary shortage of coaches on Northern Railway, two pairs of weekly trains of Garib Rath services were temporarily operated as Express train.

Services of Train no. 12207/08 Garibrath Express between Kathgodam and Jammu Tawi and Train no. 12209/10 Garibrath Express between Kanpur and Kathgodam restored with effect from 4th August 2019. pic.twitter.com/FJnYapqMf6

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) July 19, 2019

The Railways said that it has used the rakes of two Garib Rath trains temporarily as Express train services.  temporarily as Express train services. "However, the Garib Rath services on these two sectors will be restored from August 4," it added. Reacting to the reports, even Rajasthan CM Ashok Gehlot tweeted about this saying, "If these reports are accurate that Govt is planning to close down #GaribRath trains then it would be a very inappropriate decision. These trains provide AC travelling facility to common people at affordable rates, it benefits them most." Currently, Garib Rath fares are less than two-thirds of the fares of 3-AC classes in other trains. The distance between each seat or berth is comparatively less, the seats and berths are narrower and each coach has more seats and berths than in coaches of other trains.