Rail authorities say change of formation won’t affect berth numbers; many passengers say this move amounts to fewer seats, tighter competition for berths and a reduction in the number of travellers
The maintenance yard at Mazagaon won’t be able to accommodate rakes with 18 LBH coach formations. Pic/By Special Arrangement
Passengers on the Mumbai-Chennai route have complained about making their regular train shorter since this November announcement after its conversion to an upgraded LHB-class version — from January 14, 2026, two major superfast trains connecting Mumbai and Chennai/Salem will change formation from 18 coaches to 16-coach rakes.
Many passengers say this move amounts to fewer seats, tighter competition for berths and a reduction in the number of travellers. But rail authorities claim that there is no reason to worry as the new class coaches are of higher capacity and would, in fact, accommodate more passengers.
Central Railway (CR) officials said the change from 18 to 16 coaches is for the larger benefit with a switch from ageing ICF-type coaches to modern LHB coaches. They said the newer LHB sleeper coaches have 80 berths each, whereas the older ICF sleeper coaches typically had 72 berths — an increase of 8 berths per coach.
This means that a 16-coach LHB rake could carry roughly the same or close to the total number of berths carried by an 18-coach ICF rake. So while there is no compromise in the capacity, there would be an upgrade of the service.
Operational constraints at the Mumbai end are also being cited: maintenance-pitline capacity and yard constraints at the Mumbai terminal area (including Mazagaon) make 18-coach formations difficult to sustain daily, especially in the wake of LHB conversions.
Thus, rather than reducing services, the railways are rationalising coach composition to match maintenance and yard capacity and ensuring modern-coach safety standards, while maintaining similar berth numbers overall.
“Safety improvements and an increase in comfort while riding will be features of the new LHB coaches. These coaches are longer than the ICF coaches, and hence the length does not permit the accommodation of 18-coach rakes. The length across all stopping stations also needs to be ensured as it may lead to the non-availability of the platforms at stations en route,” a CR spokesperson told mid-day.
Older ICF coaches are being phased out and getting replaced by newer LHB class ones.
Jan 14
Day change will take effect in 2026
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