New Delhi: In a move to counter Lalu Prasad Yadav's Garib Rath, Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee has introduced low-coast Yuva air conditions trains for the youth of the country . One has to play only Rs 299 for distances up to 1,500 km.
The trains, with only sitting accommodation , will also benefit low-income groups.
Yuva trains will run from point to point for the distance ranging from 1,000 km to 2,500 km. The fare will be Rs 229 for distances up to 1,500 km and Rs 399 for distances upto 2,500 km.
These trains will be connecting major cities and the youth and low-income groups can travel at low fares. This aims to connect the youth in rural hinterlands with major metro cities, she said.
The Garib Raths had a fare structure that made them costlier than the sleeper class on other super-fast trains. So instead of poor sections in the society, middle class people were largely using the services of Garib rath. This may be the reason why Mamata chose to introduce new yuva trains with a comparatively law fare.
The Garib Rath ( poor man's chariot) was introduced by the Indian Railways in 2005 by Railways Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav to provide fully air-conditioned travel to the poor people with fares 25% lower than ordinary AC railway charges.
Didi wants women commandos in trains
The maximum speed of Garib Rath trains is 130 km/hr which is the same as Rajdhani's top speed. However, in Garib Rath trains, passengers are not normally provided with blankets and pillow and they have to pay extra to get those.
Mamata Banerjee tables Railway Budget 2009-10
Railways will also introduce new AC non stop trains, Turonta for the first time in history.
These non-air-conditioned super fast trains that will run close to the speed of Rajdhani trains that clock 80km an hour on an average.
Interim Railway Budget 2009-10
These trains include Delhi-Lucknow, Kolkata-Mumbai, Delhi-Mumbai, Delhi-Ernakulam, Delhi-Sealdah, Delhi-Bhubaneshwar, Delhi-Jammu Talwi, Mum-Ahmedabad, Delhi -Chennai.
Railway is also planning to introduce high-capacity air-conditioned double-decker trains in selected trains.
BSE 17,399.39 -2.17 
More News Headlines
