Rae Bareli gets country's third rail coach factory

Congress President and local MP Sonia Gandhi today laid the foundation of the country's third rail coach factory (RCF) here and later flagged off a bi-weekly train to Mumbai, Rae Bareli-Lokmanya Tilak Link Express.

The Congress MP from adjoining Amethi constituency, Rahul Gandhi, Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav and other dignitaries were also present during the function.

The new coach factory in Sonia's high-profile constituency will take the number of production units under the railways ministry to seven.

The six operational units include Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, at Chittaranjan in West Bengal, Diesel Locomotive Works at Varanasi, Integral Coach Factory in Chennai, Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala, Punjab, Rail Wheel Factory in Bangalore and the Diesel Loco Modernisation Works at Patiala, Punjab.

The proposed factory will produce 1,000 coaches annually, which will enable Indian Railways wipe out arrears of over-aged and old-design coaches.

Besides, providing jobs to locals, it will have a capacity of building modern coaches, presumably the LHB model, which has become standard coaches for the prestigious Rajdhani and Shatabdi Express trains.

At present, railways own two coach building units ""Perambur in Chennai and Kapurthala in Punjab. Together they produce more than 2,000 coaches a year.

Gandhi had announced setting up of the RCF at Lalganj on December 6, 2006, while addressing a gathering at Unchahar in Rae Bareli.

In her brief speech, Gandhi appreciated Yadav, saying, "'Laluji is doing a good job and he understands well, the value of Indian Railways."