KAPURTHALA: The Rail Coach Factory (RCF) here has started manufacturing air-conditioned three-tier economy class coaches capable of running at an optimum speed of 160 kilometres per hour, a senior official said on Tuesday.
The production began after successful oscillation trials of the coach conducted on the Nagda-Kota-Sawai Madhopur section at a speed of 180 kmph, RCF General Manager Ravinder Gupta said.
The RCF rolled out the first prototype economy class air-conditioned three-tier coach on February 10 and handed it over to the Research Development and Standard Organisation (RDSO) for its trials, he said.
After three weeks of aggressive trials, the RDSO has found it successful, Gupta said.
The Railway Board has placed an order of 248 such coaches, he said.
The RCF will roll out 50 coaches by the end of March, and the remaining would be manufactured during the next financial year, the official said, adding these coaches will be fitted with super-fast and express trains.
He said passenger berth capacity has been increased from 72 to 83 in these coaches.
Foot-operated taps, flush and other features have been added, the official said.
To overcome the threat of the COVID-19 pandemic, RCF engineers have been working to make the coaches virus-free by making changes in the air filtration system, he said.