Why Indian Railways Has Blue, Red And Green Coaches

The Indian Railway network is the second largest in Asia and the fourth largest in the world. You have probably also travelled by rail, but have you ever wondered why train coaches often vary in colours and what they mean?

You may have noted that the majority of railway coaches are blue, suggesting that they are ICF or integrated coaches, with speeds ranging from 70 to 140 kilometres per hour. These carriages are found in Mail Express or Superfast trains. These are made from iron and equipped with air brakes.

On the other hand, Indian Railways’ red coaches are known as Link Hoffmann Bush. They arrived from Germany in the year 2000. They were previously manufactured in other countries, but are presently produced in Kapurthala, Punjab.

These coaches are made of aluminium and weigh less than other coaches. They also come with disc brakes. These trains can run at a speed of 200 kilometres per hour because of their lightweight. Red coaches are mainly used in Indian Railway trains such as the Rajdhani and Shatabdi to allow them to run faster.

The green coaches are utilised in Garib Rath. There are also several brown-coloured carriages on the metre gauge train. Narrow-gauge trains, on the other hand, employ light-coloured carriages. Almost all narrow-gauge trains in India are no longer in service.

What do different stripes mean?

Apart from the colour, there are also different coloured stripes painted on the ICF coaches. These stripes perform a crucial function. Some coaches have various colours painted above the final window to distinguish them from the others.

White stripes placed on blue Railway coaches, for example, are there to designate unreserved second-class railcars of a specific train.

In addition, grey coaches with green stripes signify that they are only for women. In contrast, red stripes on grey coaches denote first-class cabins in EMU/MEMU trains. Western Railways follows both of these strategies for Mumbai local trains.

These stripes are one of several symbols used by Indian Railways to assist passengers to interpret train-related information.

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