Title - AC EMU rakes for city soon

The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) will roll out five AC-powered EMU rakes for the Chennai suburban sector of Southern Railway by the end of the year, Abhay K. Khanna, ICF General Manager, said on Tuesday.Addressing a press conference in connection with the ICF Chennai bagging the prestigious ‘Golden Peacock Eco-Innovation Award 2012’, Mr. Khanna said the five EMU rakes, each having a carriage capacity of about 3,000 passengers, formed part of the 21 AC EMU rakes planned for the fiscal.\The ICF, which has been manufacturing AC EMU rakes with upgraded technology, design and interior décor features for the Mumbai Rail Vikas Corporation (MRVC), has also incorporated several improvements that came as feedback from the suburban sector in Mumbai in its under-production rakes, Mr. Khanna said.During the current year, the ICF had set a production target of 1,601 coaches across almost 49 design variants as against its capacity of 1,500 coaches. The ICF production for the current year would include 45 LHB design modern coaches for the MRVC that will also signify the first step in ICF’s planned transition to the LHB template in a period of five years. While the allotment of coaches remained a prerogative of the Ministry of Railways, 215 ICF coaches were added to the Southern Railway’s rolling stock during 2011-12 and 838 coaches in the last five years.

According to Mr. Khanna, ICF’s production plans included manufacture of 1,600 horsepower DEMUs that run on insulated gate bipolar transistor traction technology and can haul 10-coach rakes whereas the existing 1,400 HP DEMUs could only pull eight-coach rakes. Stainless steel shells, improved ergonomic features and better colour designs would be added attractions, he said.

The ICF is also rolling out 13 self-propelled accident relief rakes on the recommendations of the High Powered Committee on Railway Safety. The ICF is currently implementing a Rs. 250-crore expansion drive at its furnishing division that would step up its capacity to 1,700 coaches a year, he said.