Aluminium is now being used for multiple projects in the railway industry. Indian Railways (IR) has taken the following measures with respect to induction of Aluminium Body coaches:
1. Modern Coach Factory (MCF) / Rae Bareli has signed a ToT (Transfer of Technology) contract with M/s Dawonsys, South Korea for Design, Development, Manufacturing and Testing of Aluminium Body passenger coaches.
About Modern Coach Factory Raebareli:
- The Modern Coach Factory, Raebareli (MCF/RBL) was set up at Lalganj in Raebareli district of Uttar Pradesh with annual capacity to produce 1000 coaches.
- Besides manufacturing stainless steel LHB coaches, MCF is taking up new challenges of manufacturing modern day coach design, including train sets, metro coaches, aluminium body coaches, bullet train coaches and high speed coaches to meet upcoming demands.
- It is presently manufacturing of all types of LHB Coaches viz. LWACCW, LWACCN, LWACCN(Humsafar), LS (Deen Dayalu), LWLLRM, Under slug SLR/SLRD, LWSCN, TRC Coach, LS (Antyodaya) etc. and supply of coaches to the different Zonal Railways as per demand.
2. Rolling Stock to be procured for Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) will be having Aluminium Body coaches.
About MAHSR Project:
- Mumbai-Ahmedabad High Speed Rail (MAHSR) Project is 508 Km long first High- Speed Rail (HSR) network planned to be constructed in India.
- Out of 508Km, 352Km lies in the State of Gujarat (348Km) and Dadra & Nagar Haveli (4Km) and balance 156Km lies in the State of Maharashtra.
- The Construction Work is in progress in both Gujarat and Dadra & Nagar Haveli where 98% and 100% land has been acquired respectively.
- The project will entail an investment of 72,000 Crs in the state of Gujarat in both Land & construction.
3. IR plans is to procure 400 new generation Vande Bharat Train sets with better energy efficiency and passenger riding experience. The use of Aluminium Body coaches in these new generation energy efficient Vande Bharat train sets will also be considered to the extent possible.
About Vande Bharat Trains:
- The Vande Bharat Express, also known as Train 18 is an Indian semi-high-speed, intercity, EMU train which is operated by the Indian Railways only on two prominent routes as of March 2022, one from New Delhi (NDLS) to Shri Mata Vaishno Devi Katra (SVDK) and the other from New Delhi (NDLS) to Varanasi (BSB).
- It was manufactured by Integral Coach Factory at Perambur, Chennai.
- Vande Bharat Express is capable of running at a maximum speed 160kmph.
- Presently, Many more trainsets are under manufacturing or under planning at various factories in India.
Source: PIB- Press Release | Image Credit (representational): ICF
