First Class Air Conditioned

The First Class air-conditioned class is the highest luxury class in the India railway system for the regular routes. The cost is roughly comparable with the economy class airfare. For about $150.00 USD, you can travel from Trivandrum to Delhi on the India railway system in this class. A number of the important long-distance routes along the Indian railways have these coaches. You’ll find the elite class of Indians and business executives traveling in this class.
On a side note, I once met a businessman on this class on a train, who informed me that he was afraid of flying, and therefore traveled only by train. Being a private compartment, you can travel days without even making eye contact with your other co-passengers. India travelers tend to mind their own business on these coaches, busy with the usual stuff - the newspaper reading, staring at the laptop screen, acting sleepy, etc. I have noticed this contrast between the First and Second or Third class on the Indian train in almost all of my India train journeys. Someone explained this to me as it being the product of the physical distances in the luxury classes. In a Sleeper class you are more physically close to the co-passengers and this increases the drive to interact with others.