ICF coach

Integral Coach Factory (ICF) coach
ICF coaches in various paint schemes
Designer	Swiss Cars and Elevator Manufacturing Co. Integral Coach Factory
Built at	Integral Coach Factory, Chennai Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala BEML Limited, Bangalore
Constructed	1955–2018
Number built	54,000+
Successor	LHB coach (IR) 7A-2000 coaches  [ ja ] (PNR)
Operators	List Indian Railways Angola Railway Bangladesh Railway Mozambique Railway Nigerian Railway Corporation Philippine National Railways Sri Lanka Railway Taiwan Railway Tanzania Railways Corporation Uganda Railways Corporation Vietnam Railways Zambia Railway
Specifications
Car body construction	Stainless steel and Weathering 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, Knuckle coupler
Track gauge	1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in)

The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) coach is a conventional passenger rail coach developed and manufactured by the Indian state owned Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. First manufactured in 1955, it was extensively used by the Indian Railways till the late 1990s. ^[1] When the production ceased in 2018, more than 54,000 coaches had been produced including exports to other countries. ^[2]

History

The coach design was developed by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Perambur, Chennai in collaboration with the Swiss Car and Elevator Manufacturing Co. from Schlieren in Switzerland. ^[3] An Indian delegation made initial contacts with the Swiss manufacturer at a railway congress in Lucerne in 1947. In the railway budget for 1949–50, the Indian government announced the intention to establish a railway coach factory in India. ^[4] In 1949, a technical agreement was concluded with the Swiss based company for technical assistance and transfer of coach building technology. ^[5] A basic steel shell was designed as a prototype by the Swiss company which formed the basis of the ICF coaches manufactured in the new facility. ^{[6] [7] [8]} The factory rolled out the first ICF coach on 2 October 1955. ^{[9] [10]} The last ICF coach was flagged off on 19 January 2018. ^[11] By the time the production ceased in 2018, ICF had manufactured more than 54,000 coaches. ^[2]

In April 2018, the Indian Railways launched a refurbishment programme called Utkrisht (excellence) to refurbish and modernise ICF coaches in 640 rakes at a cost of ₹ 4 billion (equivalent to ₹11 billionorUS$130 million in 2023). The refurbishment included a new beige and maroon paint scheme, installation of LED fixtures, bio-toilets, assistive braille signage, and improved trash disposal. ^{[12] [13]} Some of the ICF coaches were converted into accident relief vans and automobile carrier rakes. ^[14]

Operators

The ICF coach was extensively used by the Indian Railways till the late 1990s. The ICF coaches were gradually replaced by LHB coaches designed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch of Germany. ^{[15] [16]} About 601 coaches were exported to countries such as Taiwan, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Mozambique, Angola and Sri Lanka. ^[17] Philippine National Railways had 60 ICF coaches delivered between 1975 and 1979, and withdrew the last of its ICF coaches from service in 2009. ^{[1] [17]}

Liveries

Standard

The ICF coaches were painted with a brick red livery since their introduction in 1955. They were repainted blue in the 1990s, and in beige and red since 2018. ^[18]

Brick Red Livery (1955–1990s)

Blue Livery (1990s–2018)

Utkrisht Livery (2018–present)

Select classes of trains such as Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Garib Rath and Duronto used ICF coaches with special paint schemes.

Rajdhani Livery (1969–2016)

Shatabdi Livery (1988–2019)

Garib Rath Livery (2006–2024)

Duronto Livery (2009–2020)

References

1. "DNA Exclusive: Is It Time for Indian Railways to Tear Up Ageing Tracks and Old Machinery?". Zee Media Corporation . 14 January 2022. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
2. "About I.C.F." Integral Coach Factory. Archived from the original on 16 January 2018. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
3. N, Sushma U. (7 March 2018). "54,000 coaches later, an Indian train factory is hitting reset for the high-speed age". Quartz . Retrieved 9 August 2024. Since its inception in 1955, the ICF has been running on technology from Switzerland's Swiss Cars and Elevators Manufacturing and Germany's Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB)
4. Tracing the roots (PDF). Integral Coach Factory (Report). Archived from the original (PDF) on 1 January 2024. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
5. "Integral Coach Factory strong at 60". Deccan Chronicle . 15 October 2014. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
6. Nidegger, Stefan (12 November 2017). "Innovation aus «Schlieren» brachte tausende Arbeitsplätze in Indien". Aargauer Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 29 January 2024.
7. "ICF: A 'made in Switzerland' factory". Times of India. 20 September 2015. Retrieved 29 January 2024.
8. Parliamentary debates, 1954 (PDF) (Report). Government of India. p. 4. Archived from the original (PDF) on 7 April 2020. Retrieved 1 April 2020.
9. "Inside the Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory, where Vande Bharat coaches are manufactured". Business Line . 1 September 2024. Retrieved 11 December 2024. Inaugurated by the late Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1955, ICF, as it is popularly called, has been producing several coaches...
10. "Integral Coach Factory: a global success story from Chennai". The Hindu . 10 June 2022. Retrieved 1 December 2023.
11. 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.
12. "Introduction of New Trains". Press Information Bureau (Press release). Retrieved 8 January 2024.
13. "Project Utkrisht: Indian Railways gives mail/express trains swanky revamp". The Economic Times . 4 October 2018. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
14. "Central Railway converts ageing ICF coaches into accident relief trains". The Indian Express. Express News Service. 20 October 2023. Retrieved 8 January 2024.
15. "Indian Railways Passenger Coaches: Safety Features and Technologies Adopted" (PDF). International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research. April 2017. Archived (PDF) from the original on 28 February 2018. Retrieved 27 February 2018.
16. Debroy, Bibek (9 February 2018). "A 70-Year-Old Vs a 30-Year-Old: LHB Coaches Perform Better than ICF Ones" . Business Standard . Archived from the original on 29 April 2023. Retrieved 6 June 2023.
17. "Export Performance of ICF". Archived from the original on 16 June 2022.
18. "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.