The Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Indian Railways’ coach manufacturing unit, will for the first time venture into making coaches for Metro rail in the country. The ICF will deliver train coaches for the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation which is building the new age transport system in cities in the state apart from capital Mumbai.
A K Agarwal, General Manager, ICF, made the announcement at the 76th Independence Day celebrations on Monday. Agarwal also said the ICF will manufacture all 75 Vande Bharat Express trains announced by Prime Minister Narendra Modi to be pressed into service across the country.
The first prototype rake of Vande Bharat Express 2.0 was handed over to RDSO for testing a few days ago, and will be inducted into Indian Railways in the next few months after due tests.
“The ICF is planning to manufacture 3,500 coaches in about 50 variants including Vande Bharat rakes, Vistadome dining car which will be running in Gujarat by this September, Gatishakti freight train and steam engine themed Heritage Train with electric propulsion in the Vande Bharat platform,” Agarwal said.
He said turning out metro coaches for the Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation and Garib Rath Air-conditioned 3 tier coaches that facilitates rail passengers to travel in air-conditioning comfort at lesser fares.
The country currently has two Vande Bharat Express running from New Delhi to Varanasi Junction and Katra. The first Vande Bharat Express was launched on February 15 by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, months after the ICF rolled out the Made in India coaches.
Also known as Train 18, which has a self-propelled engine like the vintage EMUs, has been designed in such a way to save diesel by dispensing with the power cars and to reduce electricity usage by 30 per cent, thanks to the advanced regenerative braking system.
However, the manufacturing of such trains hit a roadblock for some time. The third train, which was rolled out on Friday, will be sent for testing of about 15,000 km following which it will be inducted into the Indian Railways. The train will be tested at 180 km per hour.
The first Train 18 was designed to accommodate a total of 1,128 passengers -- 78 in the normal coach and 52 in the Executive coach – will boast of passenger amenities such as onboard Wi-Fi infotainment, GPS Based Passenger Information System, plush interiors, bio-vacuum toilets, diffused LED lighting and charging points beneath every seat.