chief
Prime VIP
KAPURTHALA: The country's first air-conditioned double-deck- er coaches went into produc- tion at the Rail Coach Factory (RCF) on Thursday. Railway Board Member Mechanical Sanjiv Handa, at the factory for a two-day review visit, launched the production.
The first rake of 16 coaches would be rolled out by the year- end, said GM Pardeep Kumar.
Produced in a green-yellow colour scheme, the double-deck- er coach has all the features and comforts of a Shatabdi coach and is capable of running at a speed of 160 km per hour. It has a seating capacity of 128 as com- pared with 78 in Shatabdi chair car, up 70 per cent.
The overall height of the coach has been increased marginal- ly, to four-and-a-half inches, keeping in view constraints such as overhead structures, bridges, electric traction equipment, platforms etc.
RCF had developed the pro- totype in a record time of nine months and Union Railways Minister Mamata Banerjee, dur- ing inspection of the coach in Delhi on March 31, had lauded the effort. The Railway Board gave a green signal for its manufacture to provide economi- cal AC travel to rail passengers.
The initial oscillation trials of the coach on Delhi- Moradabad section were sat- isfactory, railway sources said.
Lauding the adoption of new technology in the making of the new-design LHB coaches with their anti-climbing features which minimised causalities during derailment of Rajdhani Express on the Delhi-Gauhati section few days ago, Handa directed the RCF management to switch production to stain- less steel and LHB coaches as early as possible.
General Manager Pardeep Kumar said RCF would man- ufacture six rakes of Duronto trains and eight rakes of Multiple Electrical Mobile Units (MEMU) with toilet facilities as demanded by the traveling passengers, besides one rake of refrigeration parcel van to carry fresh vegetables and fruits during this year.
The Member Mechanical spent more than three hours at the workshop and expressed satisfaction over the quality of the coaches manufactured.
He also inaugurated a new paint shop and furnishing bay at the factory and met with the senior officers.
