Do you know what the letter ‘X’ on a train’s last coach denotes?

If you have travelled in India via trains, you might have noticed that Indian rail coaches often feature a lot of symbols and letters on them that we often don’t bother to understand or seek explanation. Well, you all will also agree that one such symbol is the large ‘X’ word, which is often seen on the last coach of a train. So, do you actually know what’s meant by that symbol?

You might have different ideas, but the Railway Ministry recently took to Twitter to explain the logic behind this symbol, and many like you will finally get their answer.

Did you Know?

The letter ‘X’ on the last coach of the train denotes that the train has passed without any coaches being left behind. pic.twitter.com/oVwUqrVfhE

— Ministry of Railways (@RailMinIndia) March 5, 2023

Referring to this, the Railway Ministry tweeted that the letter ‘X’ on the last coach of the train denotes that the train has passed without any coaches being left behind. The symbol signifies that all coaches of a train have passed without any coach being detached. It also serves as a confirmation for the railway officials. The ‘X’ is painted on the last coach of a train in yellow, which can be seen on any passenger-carrying train and on freight trains.

The now-viral post shared by the Ministry of Railways recently has garnered a lot of attention, which also meant the people have been curious about it for a long time.
While information like this is useful, some have also raised the question of whether incidents singling out coaches are also common.