The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) coach is a conventional passenger coach used on the majority of Indian Railways (IR) lines.[1] Between 1955 and 2018, more than 54,000 were produced and some were exported to other countries.[2]
| Integral Coach Factory (ICF) coach | |
|---|---|
 Yellow ("Utkrisht" livery) and blue ("Blue" livery) ICF coaches. | |
| Designer | Swiss Car & Elevator Manufacturing Co |
| Built at | |
| Constructed | 1955–2018 |
| Scrapped | c. 2000s–2009 (PNR) |
| Number built | More than 54,000, 601 for export |
| Number scrapped |
|
| Successor |
|
| Operators |
|
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Stainless steel and corten steel |
| Car length | 22,297 mm (73 ft 1.8 in) over buffers |
| Width | 3,245 mm (10 ft 7.8 in) |
| Height | 4,025 mm (13 ft 2.5 in) |
| Floor height | 1,313 mm (4 ft 3.7 in) |
| Wheelbase | 14,783 mm (48 ft 6.0 in) |
| Maximum speed | 130 km/h (81 mph) |
| Bogies | ICF Bogies |
| Minimum turning radius | 152.4 m (500 ft) |
| Coupling system | Buffers and chain coupler, AAR H Type Tightlock CBC coupling |
| Track gauge | 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) |
History
editThe design of the coach was developed by Integral Coach Factory, Perambur, Chennai, India in collaboration with the Swiss Car & Elevator Manufacturing Co, Schlieren, Switzerland. The bogies were also known as Schlieren bogies after the location of the Swiss company.[3]
An Indian delegation made initial contacts with the Swiss manufacturer at a railway congress in Lucerne in the summer of 1947, the contract for cooperation between the company and the Government of India was signed in Delhi in May 1949, and work on the Perambur factory began a year later. The plant was inaugurated by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1955.[4][5] By 2018, it had manufactured more than 54,000 coaches,[2] of which 601 were exported to countries such as Taiwan, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Mozambique, Angola and Sri Lanka.[6] The last ICF coach was flagged off on 19 January 2018 by senior technician P. Bhaskar in the presence of Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani.[7]
Project Utkrisht
edit
In April 2018, the Indian Railways launched a refurbishment programme called Utkrisht ('excellence') to refurbish and modernise ICF coaches in 640 rakes.[8]
With a total cost of ₹4 billion (equivalent to ₹11 billion or US$130 million in 2023), the refurbishment included a new beige and maroon livery, LED fixtures, upgraded bio-toilets with odour control, assistive braille signage, and improved trash disposal.[9]
Retirement and legacy
editCentral Railways is converting ICF coaches having a residual life of 5 years into accident relief and new modified goods-high speed (NMGH) automobile carrier rakes. As of September 2023, 57 ICF coaches have been converted into NMGH rakes and 4 ICF coaches have been converted into accident relief trains.[10]
The Philippine National Railways (PNR) had already withdrawn the last of its ICF coaches from service in 2009.[1] 60 coaches were delivered to PNR between 1975 and 1979.[6]
Liveries
editStandard
editSince their introduction in 1955 with a brick red livery, the ICF coaches were repainted blue in the 1990s, and in beige and red since 2018.[11]
Special
editAll of India's premier trainsets – the Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto – and Garib Rath were introduced with ICF rakes. Garib Rath is the only trainset that continues to use ICF coaches to date, while the rest have been moved to LHB coaches.
Image gallery
edit-
A red ICF coach used on an unnamed train -
A blue ICF coach used on the Gorakdham Express -
A buffers and chain coupler on an ICF coach used on Uttaranchal Sampark Kranti Express -
ICF coaches of Chennai Shatabdi
References
edit- ^ a b "DNA Exclusive: Is It Time for Indian Railways to Tear Up Ageing Tracks and Old Machinery?". ZeeNews.India.com. Zee Media Corporation. 14 January 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
- ^ a b "About I.C.F." Integral Coach Factory. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ "Schlieren Bogie (ICF Laminated Bogie)". Indian Railways Technical Info. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ Nidegger, Stefan (12 November 2017). "Innovation aus «Schlieren» brachte tausende Arbeitsplätze in Indien". Aargauer Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ "ICF: A 'made in Switzerland' factory". Times of India. 20 September 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
- ^ a b "Export Performance of ICF". Archived from the original on 16 June 2022.
- ^ Debroy, Bibek (9 February 2018). "A 70-Year-Old Vs a 30-Year-Old: LHB Coaches Perform Better than ICF Ones". Business Standard. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
- ^ "Introduction of New Trains". Press Information Bureau. Press Information Bureau. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- ^ "Project Utkrisht: Indian Railways gives mail/express trains swanky revamp". The Economic Times. 4 October 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- ^ "Central Railway converts ageing ICF coaches into accident relief trains". The Indian Express. Express News Service. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
- ^ "The dying sight of uniform liveries on Indian trains". A Little Voice. 12 April 2022. Archived from the original on 8 January 2024. Retrieved 8 January 2024.