You Can Live in a Train as Indian Railways Auctions Discarded Coaches

By Aditi Patwardhan

November 21, 2016

Here’s Your Chance to Finally Live in a Train as Indian Railways Auctions Discarded Coaches

Indian Railways will soon be auctioning the coaches of at least six metre-gauge trains that have been pulled out of operation by the Lucknow division of North Eastern Railway (NER).

Trains have a charm of their own. Besides being one of the coolest ways to travel, train coaches, when modified, can make incredibly rustic, raw and exotic structures. Many people have experimented with and revamped train coaches to convert them into school classrooms, cafes, libraries, and even houses!

Sounds interesting? Want to give it a shot? Here’s some good news for those who would like to transform a train carriage into a cosy nook — it is now possible to buy a coach!

indian_metre_gauge_train

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Image source: By BOMBMAN, via Wikimedia Commons

Indian Railways will soon be auctioning the coaches of at least six metre-gauge trains that have been pulled out of operation by the Lucknow division of North Eastern Railway (NER) due to gauge conversion of the Aishbagh-Mailani section.

The auction will take place sometime next month and it will be open for general public to participate and bid.

“Since railways no longer manufacture these coaches, some of them will be used to augment the existing pairs. The remaining would be sent to other railways with metre-gauge trains running if they demand,” NER Lucknow divisional railway manager Alok Singh told The Times of India.

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However, all the discarded coaches will not be up for auction.

“Western Railway has demanded a few coaches as it has metre gauge line. Besides, we also have to return some coaches we had taken from other railways,” said senior divisional operations manager Swadesh Singh.

Railways auctions only the waste material after removing useful parts of the coaches. The buyers are usually independent dealers who extract the scrap metal and sell it. But the entire coach is auctioned in case of metre-gauge trains. This is because most trains are now broad gauge and no part of the metre-gauge coaches are useful.

The last metre gauge coach that was auctioned was sold for Rs 1,10,000. And that was about 30 years ago.

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