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The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at Perambur, near Chennai, is the first facility globally to manufacture 50,000 rail coaches.
Union Railways Minister Suresh Prabhu today flagged off 50,000th rail coach, through a video conference from the national capital. “No other unit in the world has reached this number,” said the Minister.
ICF is one of the earliest production units in India, which was inaugurated by the first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1955.
The facility is capable of producing around 2,000 coaches per annum, and has produced 50,000 coaches in 500 different designs since its inception.
The factory has turned out an outrun of 1,704 coaches in 2014-15, consisting of 50 variants.
It has obtained the transfer of coach building technology from Swiss Cars Elevators Manufacturing Corporation Ltd.
Though the technology was for BG III Class Coach exclusively, the ICF has evolved over 500 different designs, including electric multiple units (EMU)’s, diesel electric multiple units, AC, sleeper and self-propelled coaches for various zonal railways, including Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation and custom-built coaches such as double deckers tourist car and defence coaches.
ICF has rolled out the first CNG DEMU (diesel electric multiple unit) rake in the last production year.
In association with IISc Bangalore, ICF has completed trials with solar panels of LSCN coach roof top. This trail is for data generation under different weather condition so as to develop full-fledged solar panel system to power non-AC coaches. It is now working to employ solar panels of LSCN coach roof top.
Speaking at the event, the Union Minister said, Railways was facing financial pressure at a time when people were expecting better service quality.
“If people are ready to pay extra money, we can offer quality service and superior products,” he said, adding the ministry was working with education institutes and industries to see how best materials could be managed. “This is the biggest challenge ahead of us,” said the Union Minister.
Launches Rs 252 crore steel coach unit
He also dedicated a Rs 252 crore unit to manufacture 300 LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) stainless steel coaches at the facility.
The unit had already started operations and 100 LHB shells had been manufactured, according to ICF.
