Vistadome Coaches: Connectivity meets Tourism

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Passengers are in for a visual treat with beautiful sky floating above them and an all around panoramic view of their surroundings whizzing by, if they hop on the Vistadome coach on the Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar Shatabdi Express.

A Made in India Vistadome Coach with a seating capacity of 44 passengers has been added to the Mumbai Central-Gandhinagar Shatabdi Express that traverses on the Mumbai-Surat-Ahmedabad route.

Minister of State for Railways, Darshana Jardosh said that passengers can from April 11 book tickets for this Vistadome Coach. The tickets can be booked from IRCTC website.

Vistadome coaches will redefine the travel experience of passengers as they can now better enjoy the beauty of the route with a panoramic view. Large glass side windows, see- through glass roofs, rotating seats and an observation lounge will ensure that nothing will block the viewing experience.

The base fare of AC Vistadome coach shall be 1.1 times of executive class base fare of Shatabdi trains, an official statement in 2021 said.

Typical Features of Vistadome Coaches

The vistadome coaches are an observation lounge with large windows extending the enriching traveling experience of passengers. The 180° rotatable seats ensure that the passengers enjoy the view from both windows placed to their right and left. There are automatic sliding doors at both gates of the coach and the glass rooftops offer a panoramic view.

The coaches have foldable snack tables, seat numbers with Braille language, access to ‘content on demand’ for passengers through Wi-Fi facility on their personal gadgets, a mini pantry with coffee maker, water cooler, hot oven and refrigerator, separate multi-tier luggage compartment, along with a separate cabin for train staff who will brief passengers regarding the coach in each ride.

The coaches will also be equipped with CCTV surveillance, a fire alarm system, and an LED destination board.

Vistadomes boost tourism

As of 11 February 2022, 45 trains are being operated with Vistadome coaches.

To act as a boost to the tourism sector and to ensure mesmerising visuals for passengers, the routes are selected based on natural scenic beauty. Some of the routes where these coaches have been installed are Dadar and Madgaon, Araku Valley, Kashmir Valley, Darjeeling Himalayan Railway, Kalka Shimla Railway, Kangra Valley Railway, Matheran Hill Railway, Nilgiri Mountain Railway.