27-693: Integral Coach Factory is an Indian manufacturer of rail coaches . Established in 1955, it is located in Perambur in Chennai and is the largest rail coach manufacturer in the world. It is owned and operated by the Indian Railways and is the oldest amongst the five rake production units of the Indian Railways. While the facility initially manufactured ICF coaches , it currently manufactures LHB coaches and electric multiple units including
54-570: A 2x2 configuration. The chair car coaches can seat 78 passengers per coach (44 in first and last coaches) and are equipped with retractable seats in 2x3 configuration. The coaches are fully air conditioned and equipped with electric outlets , reading lights, CCTV cameras , automatic doors , bio-vacuum toilets , Sensor-based water taps and Passenger information system . The coaches have wider windows with roller blinds and overhead racks for luggage. The service offers onboard catering with both vegetarian and non-vegetarian meal options included in
81-409: A coach is 23 m (75 ft) long, and is made of stainless steel . During its trial runs, the trainsets had clocked speeds of up to 183 km/h (114 mph) with an acceleration of 0–100 km/h (0–62 mph) in 52 seconds. The operational speed is limited due to track restrictions, halts and traffic congestion. The maximum operational speed of 160 km/h (99 mph) is achieved by
108-510: A suburb of Madras and the construction began. A further extended agreement was signed in 1953 for the Swiss company to supply tools and machines to set up the factory. The Integral Coach Factory is one of the earliest production units and was constructed at a cost of ₹ 74.7 million (US$ 900,000). The factory was inaugurated by then Prime Minister of India Jawaharlal Nehru and rolled out its first coach on 2 October 1955. The furnishing division
135-399: A technical agreement was concluded with Swiss Cars and Elevator Manufacturing Corporation , a Zurich -based company for technical assistance and transfer of coach building technology. A basic steel shell was designed as a prototype by the Swiss company which would form the basis of coaches to be manufactured in the new facility. In 1951, the site for the factory was chosen at Perambur ,
162-479: Is a reserved , air-conditioned chair car service connecting cities that are less than 800 km (500 mi) apart or take less than ten hours to travel with existing services. The train was a part of the ' Make in India ' initiative by the government and entered commercial service on 15 February 2019. The trainsets are self-propelling Electric Multiple Units (EMU)s with eight or sixteen coaches. The trainset
189-442: Is responsible for interior furnishing, exterior painting, electrical equipment and other testing. The factory had an installed capacity of 350 units per annum in 1955 with the production increasing to 1458 by 2013–14, 2277 by 2016–17 and reaching the highest at 4166 coaches in 2019–20. In 2011, the air-conditioned train-sets manufactured by ICF for Kolkata Metro allegedly broke down causing disruption of services as
216-665: The Rani Kamalapati (Habibganj)–Hazrat Nizamuddin Vande Bharat Express and Hazrat Nizamuddin-Khajuraho Vande Bharat Express on the 174 km (108 mi) Tughlakabad – Agra section. The train has two classes of accommodation with the AC Executive Class being the premium class and the AC chair being the other. The executive class coach can seat 52 passengers and is equipped with rotating seats in
243-537: The Tughlakabad – Agra section. In 1960, the Railway Board of India commissioned a study to increase the speed of its trains, which was restricted to 96 km/h (60 mph) on the existent broad gauge lines. A target of 160 km/h (99 mph) with an intermediate stage of 120 km/h (75 mph) was set for passenger trains. Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) started work on
270-524: The 1960s, ICF started developing EMUs for short-haul and local routes. In 2017, ICF started developing a semi-high speed train-set designed to be fully air-conditioned, equipped with modern facilities and capable of reaching speeds of over 160 km/h (99 mph). In 2018, the first prototype code-named "Train 18" was completed within 18 months after initiation and was built at a cost of ₹ 970 million (equivalent to ₹ 1.3 billion or US$ 16 million in 2023) with 80% indigenous components. It
297-531: The cause for developing the next generation EMU semi-high-speed trainsets locally. ICF worked on an indigenous design, which was constructed at the Integral Coach Factory. These trainsets known as Train 18 initially, were introduced in 2018 and reached speeds of up to 183 km/h (114 mph) in trials. These trainsets were later renamed to Vande Bharat . On 15 February 2019, the first Vande Bharat Express between New Delhi and Varanasi
SECTION 10
#1732772322587324-450: The existing fastest train with an average speed of 117.5 km/h (73.0 mph). There were significant issues such as the adaptation of rakes , maintenance, higher costs and robustness. Indian Railways could not reach a direct agreement and the deal never materialised. After foreign proposals for introducing semi-high-speed trains were unsuccessful, the Make in India campaign fuelled
351-683: The late 1990s, the ICF coaches were replaced by safer and newer LHB coaches designed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch of Germany . In December 2009, the Ministry of Railways of Government of India envisaged the implementation of high-speed rail projects to provide services at 250–350 km/h (160–220 mph) with the upgradation of existing tracks, construction of new lines and introduction of high speed trainsets. In 2014, proposals were made to introduce semi-high-speed 160–200 km/h (99–124 mph) services between major cities. In 2016, Gatimaan Express
378-495: The personnel. A Regional Railway Museum is situated in the factory premises which has a collection of nascent models of trains and models endemic to the Indian Railways . ICF maintains quarters of working staff and other associated facilities including hospitals and schools. About 59.1 million units of electricity had been generated through the windmills installed by ICF in Tirunelveli district in 2011 which met 80 per cent of
405-558: The plant's electrical energy requirements. 13°05′54″N 80°12′30″E / 13.09832°N 80.20844°E / 13.09832; 80.20844 Rolling stock The term rolling stock in the rail transport industry refers to railway vehicles , including both powered and unpowered vehicles: for example, locomotives , freight and passenger cars (or coaches), and non-revenue cars . Passenger vehicles can be un-powered, or self-propelled, single or multiple units. In North America, Australia and other countries,
432-470: The production of new sets with more time provided to come up with the cheapest bid for the upgrades required. The second generation trainsets entered service on 30 September 2022. Since Vande Bharat trains provide fast service across short-distances, similar to the Shatabdi Express, the trains will eventually replace the existing Shatabdis. As of 2023, ICF is developing long-distance version of
459-715: The rakes were sent to Kolkata without conducting dry runs because the ICF did not have third-rail testing facilities. As of early 2020s, the company manufactures over 4000 coaches each year and is the largest rail coach manufacturer in the world. In June 2024, ICF rolled out its 75,000 coach, which was part of the 69th rake of Vande Bharat . ICF manufactures more than 170 varieties of coaches including IC coaches , LHB coaches , Metro coaches , EMUs , DMUs and MEMUs . The coaches manufactured based on original Swiss design were termed as ICF coaches which were manufactured from 1955 to 2018. The ICF coaches were replaced by newer LHB coaches designed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch of Germany . In
486-499: The same and using the coaches were manufactured by the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) at Madras and hauled by diesel locomotives , Rajdhani Express capable of reaching speeds of up to 120 km/h (75 mph) were introduced in 1969. With the introduction of WAP-1 electric locomotives, Shatabdi Express introduced in 1988, were capable of running at a maximum speed of 130 km/h (81 mph). From
513-461: The semi-high speed Vande Bharat train-sets. After Indian Independence , the Government of India wanted to reduce the import of rail coaches to cater to the increasing traffic of the Indian Railways . In the railway budget for 1949–50, then Minister of Transport and Railways , N. Gopalaswami Ayyangar announced the intention to establish a railway coach factory in India. In 1949,
540-496: The term consist ( / ˈ k ɒ n s ɪ s t / KON -sist ) is used to refer to the rolling stock in a train. In the United States, the term rolling stock has been expanded from the older broadly defined "trains" to include wheeled vehicles used by businesses on roadways. The word stock in the term is used in a sense of inventory . Rolling stock is considered to be a liquid asset , or close to it, since
567-740: The trainset with sleeper cars . In December 2023, the Government announced a target to have 4,500 Vande Bharat trains by 2047. Vande Bharat Express uses Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) trainsets manufactured by Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. The trainsets have sixteen or eight chair cars . A standard sixteen car rake consists of two Driving Trailer Coaches , one each on every end along with two non-driver trailer coaches, four trailer coaches with pantographs and eight motor coaches . A second generation sixteen car trainset weighs 392 tonnes and costs ₹ 115 crore (US$ 14 million). The chassis of
SECTION 20
#1732772322587594-441: The value of the vehicle can be readily estimated and then shipped to the buyer without much cost or delay. The term contrasts with fixed stock ( infrastructure ), which is a collective term for the track , signals , stations , other buildings, electric wires, etc., necessary to operate a railway. Vande Bharat Express Vande Bharat Express is a medium-distance superfast express service operated by Indian Railways . It
621-467: Was designed and manufactured by Integral Coach Factory in Chennai . Introduced in 2018, the trainsets achieved semi-high speeds of 183 km/h (114 mph) on trials, and crossed target trial speed of 180 km/h (110 mph) on trials, but the maximum operational speed is 160 km/h (99 mph) which is achieved by the Rani Kamalapati (Habibganj)–Hazrat Nizamuddin Vande Bharat Express and Hazrat Nizamuddin-Khajuraho Vande Bharat Express on
648-584: Was flagged off at the New Delhi railway station by Prime Minister Narendra Modi . The train covered a distance of 759 km (472 mi) in 8 hours at an average speed of 95 km/h (59 mph) and reduced the existing travel time along the route by 15%. In October 2019, the second service was launched between New Delhi and Katra . After the inauguration of the first two services, Indian Railways stopped production of new train-sets owing to internal issues. In 2019, Indian Railways resumed tenders for
675-406: Was inaugurated on 2 October 1962. The ICF consists of two main divisions, shell division and furnishing division. The shell division consists of 14 individual units and manufactures the skeleton of the rail coach, where various parts that form the shell are fabricated and integrated to form a single structure that is placed on wheel sets. The furnishing division consists of eight individual units and
702-481: Was inaugurated which achieved speeds of 160 km/h (99 mph) between Delhi and Agra. In June 2016, Indian Railways sought Requests For Qualification (RFQ) to jointly manufacture five thousand Electric Multiple Unit (EMU) sets with interested international and domestic parties. In 2015, Talgo conducted trial runs on the Mumbai–Delhi line , completing the journey in ten hours, almost six hours quicker than
729-715: Was later re-named as Vande Bharat Express , the first of which was flagged off by the Prime Minister of India on 15 February 2019. While the coach factory primarily manufactures rolling stock for Indian Railways, it also exports railway coaches to other countries. The first export was an order of 47 bogies to Thailand in 1967 and the factory has since exported 875 bogies and coaches to over 13 Afro-Asian countries including Angola , Bangladesh , Mozambique , Myanmar , Nepal , Nigeria , Philippines , Sri Lanka , Taiwan , Tanzania , Uganda , Vietnam , and Zambia . A training school, established in 1955 provides training to
#586413