New Delhi: In an initiative to facilitate new mothers while traveling via trains with their infants, the Indian Railways has introduced a foldable ‘baby berths’ feature in some selected trains. The fresh facility was introduced on the occasion of Mother’s day.
The initiative happens to be a collaborative effort between the Lucknow and Delhi divisions of the Northern Railways, who have launched the facility on a trial basis. At present, the model is only carried out in an AC three-tier coach of Lucknow Mail 12230 on berths 12 and 60 to help mothers sleep more comfortably with their babies during the journey.
The Northern Railway shared some pictures on Twitter with caption, “On Mother’s Day, Lucknow Divn of N.Rly. introduced a baby berth on an experimental basis in Coach No.194129/B4, berth No 12 & 60. This will facilitate mothers traveling with their babies. The fitted baby seat is foldable & secured with a stopper.”
On Mother’s Day, Lucknow Divn of N.Rly. introduced a baby berth on experimental basis in Coach No.194129/B4, berth No 12 & 60. This will facilitate mothers travelling with their babies.
The fitted baby seat is foldable & secured with a stopper. @AshwiniVaishnaw @RailMinIndia pic.twitter.com/4jNEtchuVh
— Northern Railway (@RailwayNorthern) May 9, 2022
The anticipated ‘baby berth’ has been attached to the lower berths in the train, allowing the infant to sleep on a separate yet attached berth, with a couple of straps to protect the baby from falling off the seat.
When not in use, a stopper beneath the berth holds it in place. The ‘baby berth’ needs to be rotated after unlocking the stopper in order to bring it to the level of the lower seat.
A slider underneath the berth must be locked to maintain the safety of the baby seat, and finally, a side-support railing has to get unfolded to use the baby berth.
Lucknow division railway manager Suresh Kumar Sapra told Times of India that the idea of equipping the trains with special berths for babies came from an engineer during a meeting of the Railway board.
“In a recent review meeting of the railway board, the idea by one Maharashtra-based engineer Nitin Deore to create a feature which could support mothers while they travel along with their infants was introduced. The idea has been given the shape in the form of a baby berth”, he said.
However, passagers will not have the convenience of booking for the special berths yet.
“They can approach the on-board train ticket examiner to exchange the seat with a passenger who has been allotted the lower berth which has a baby berth attached with it”, Sapra added.
