Indian Railways has launched its first ever paint-less train. Imagine a silver looking stainless-steel train running on railway tracks. Yes, the new Antyodaya Express is not the usual red or other typical Indian Railways colour, but is of shiny silver, and its no-paint exterior that actually looks classy, appealing and quite international.

Antyodaya Express is first-of-its-kind without paint train that is manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai. This 22 coaches LHB (Linke-Hofmann-Busch) rake was handed over to the Southern Railway division of Indian Railways by the manufacturer.

The first Antyodaya Express service began in the year 2017, which had colourful paint scheme of red and yellow. Apart from being paint-less, all the features remain same in the new Antyodaya Express.

As per ICF, the new silver Antyodaya Express will be made available as an unreserved train for ‘superfast service’ and will only operate on dense routes at a speed of 120 km/hour. On Tamil New Year, it operated between Tambaram and Tirunelveli.

An ICF official said, “The advantage of a paint-less exterior coach is that it saves the cost of paint and that of refurbishing it when it is time for a upgrade”.

Prime features of the new Antyodaya Express

1) These coaches feature a ‘corrugate side wall’ having a 2 mm thick duplex stainless steel.
2) These have paint-less finish, fleet graphic and hydrophobic anti graphic stickers.
3) The roof top is coated with solar heat resistant paint.
4) The new paint less Antyodaya Express has been envisaged for unreserved passengers.
5) There are bio-toilets inside the train and cushioned seats and luggage racks.