As a part of a pilot project, the Northern Railways ran a trial drive with a separate bed fitted on the two lower main berths of Lucknow Mail
On the occasion of Mothers’ Day (8 May) this year, the Delhi and Lucknow divisions of the Northern Railways introduced a baby berth to make the journey comfortable for women travelling with an infant. As a part of a pilot project, the Northern Railways ran a trial drive with a separate bed fitted on the two lower main berths of Lucknow Mail. The facility will later be expanded to other trains following feedback from the passengers.
On Sunday, the Lucknow division of the Northern Railways introduced the separate berth in two main berths of the Lucknow Mail, which runs between Delhi and Lucknow. The secured berth was installed with berth numbers 12 and 60 of the second cabins on both ends of AC three-tier coaches to accommodate the children who might be too young to be left unsupervised on a single berth. The foldable berths are 770 mm in length, 255 mm in width, and 76.2 mm in height and have a stopper to secure the child from falling during travel.
On 9 May, the Northern Railways shared the news along with the photos of the baby berths on their official Twitter handle and sought feedback from the general people. After recording positive feedback, the facility will be expanded to other trains.
Later, the necessary information will be available at the Centre for Railway Information Systems (CRIS) and the mothers will be able to book the berths on request. Following the tweet, the Divisional Railway Manager (DRM) of the Northern Railways’ Lucknow Division Suresh Kumar Sapra shared the news and greeted women with Mothers’ Day wishes.
Earlier, the Ministry of Railways assured to provide the lower berths to pregnant women, women travelling alone, and women who have children below 5 years of age with them. Now, this new initiative will facilitate the ease of travel for mothers travelling with babies.
Users across Twitter appreciated the Railways department for this initiative. However, they have asked for improving the quality of the berth. Some also suggested upgrading the stopper with additional security.