It will be equipped with facilities like a satellite phone, Fax, TVs and head phones on every seat, plush velvet upholstery, five star catering, beverages on the house and smartly dressed attendants to help passengers.

All this in addition to a smooth ride. If railway officials are to be believed, the train will offer greater luxury and convenience to passengers.

Official circles are upbeat about the success of the train, as the proposed fare isn't much higher than that of the current Shatabdi. The fare structure is still to be cleared by the Railway board, and will also depend on the response to a questionnaire to be circulated in the Shatabdi Express from tomorrow.

Passengers travelling from Delhi to Amritsar will have to pay around Rs 1,155 for the executive classand Rs 570 for the chair car. Those travelling from Delhi to Chandigarh the passengers will have to pay around Rs 820 for the executive class and Rs 415 for the chair car. The train will have features comparable to those on board a passenger aircraft. The IRY/IR 120 coaches have been designed at the Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, railway officials said.

The broad concept of the train has been borrowed from the X-2000 train of Sweden, officials said. The first such train will ply from New Delhi to Amritsar and the next from New Delhi to Chandigarh. The speed of the train will be higher than that of the existing Shatabdi Express and will cut travel time to Amritsar and Chandigarh by 30 minutes.

``We have to be modest about the whole project. Technically speaking, these coaches can run at a speed of 180 kmph but then we have limitations with regard to the track so we'd like the speed to be not more than 120 kmph,'' said a senior Railway official.

The existing travel time from Delhi to Chandigarh whichtakes three-and-a-half hours will now take only three hours. Similarly, the distance between New Delhi and Amritsar will be covered in seven-and-a-half-hours.

``We don't have anything like fencing along the track as in the case of the French TGV so we can't afford to have a mishap by running it a very high speed with the present tracks. The impetus will be on comfort and convenience,'' the official added.

Besides the comfortable seats, the coaches will have wider windows. The passengers will be distributed free magazines and the interiors will be designed for better comfort.