CHENNAI: By building 3,101 coaches between April 2021 and March 2022, the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) met the 3,100-coach target set by the Railway Board (RB) for the financial year. This, ICF officials said, was achieved despite disruptions caused by the pandemic during the first quarter (April-June).
For the year 2021-2022, the ICF turned out 1,954 LHB coaches, of which 1,391 are air-conditioned. "The RB has increased the production target of AC coaches. This is the first time such a large number of AC coaches (mostly three-tier) has been produced," said a senior ICF official.
The factory also rolled out 15 LHB Vistadome coaches, which would be added to trains being operated to tourist spots. (The Vistadome coach has a glass ceiling offering 180 degree panoramic view to passengers.) According to officials, 109 coaches - 83 mainline coaches and 26 for air-conditioned DEMU coaches - produced by the ICF during 2021-22 were exported to Sri Lanka.
In addition, 10 DEMU coaches made at ICF were introduced between Jaynagar in Bihar and Kurtha in Nepal via Janakpur, a pilgrimage site. The train was flagged off by Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 2.
"We also built 18 rakes (144 coaches) of new air-conditioned metro coaches for the Kolkata Metro; they have features similar to those aboard imported metro coaches," added the official. ICF first crossed the 3,000-mark in coach production in 2018-19 when it turned out 3,262 coaches. It went up to 4,166 coaches in 2019-20.
However, production tanked to 1,954 in 2020-2021 owing the pandemic-induced lockdown and subsequent closure of the plant. "Compared with regular LHB coaches, production of special coaches such as Vistadome takes more time. We are awaiting the revised target for 2022-23," added the official.
