- 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
Integral Coach Factory (ICF) coach | |
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![]() 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 |
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Operators |
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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) |
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] The coaches are to be phased out by 2030. [3]
The 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. [4]
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 inauguration by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1955. [5] [6] 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. [7] 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. [8]
In April 2018, the Indian Railways launched a refurbishment programme called Utkrisht ('excellence') to refurbish and modernise ICF coaches in 640 rakes. [9]
With a total cost of ₹ 4 billion (equivalent to ₹11 billionorUS$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. [10]
Indian Railways plans to retire all ICF coaches by 2030, replacing them with LHB and Vande Bharat trainsets. [3]
Central 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. [11]
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. [7]
Since 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. [12]
All 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.
Shatabdi Express are a series of fast passenger trains operated by Indian Railways. Shatabdi Express are day trains and mostly return to their origin station the same day. The trains were first introduced in 1988 and were named 'Shatabdi', meaning 'century', to commemorate the birth centenary of India's first Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru. The trains run at a maximum permissible speed of 110–150 km/h (68–93 mph) with the Rani Kamalapati–New Delhi Shatabdi Express achieving the maximum permissible speed of 150 km/h (93 mph) between Tughlakabad and Bilochpura Agra.
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Integral Coach Factory is an Indian manufacturer of rail coaches. Established in 1955, it is located in Perambur in Chennai and is the largest rail coach manufacturer in the world. It is owned and operated by the Indian Railways and is the oldest amongst the five rake production units of the Indian Railways. While the facility initially manufactured ICF coaches, it currently manufactures LHB coaches and electric multiple units including the semi-high speed Vande Bharat train-sets.
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