ICF coaches to be made of stainless steel in three years

Chennai: Within the next three years, all coaches at Integral Coach Factory (ICF) will be made with stainless steel instead of using it for exclusively to produce Linke Hoffman Busch (LHB), EMU (Electric Multiple Units) and DEMU (Diesel Multiple Units) coaches, say officials.

According to senior officials at ICF, it was the ministry's decision to move to production of stainless steel completely, keeping in mind the benefit provided by the metal. The project is likely to be announced during this Budget.

Stainless steel is one of the factors for better durability and safety of LHB coaches. Due to better shock-bearing capacity and lower ductility, stainless steel instead of Corten steel ensures the coach endures damage better than the conventional ICF-manufactured coaches.

Currently, LHB coaches, some passenger and electric train units are manufactured using stainless steel. Stainless steel makes coaches lighter by 40 per cent but can handle more payload.

At present, most train coaches in the Indian Railways carry weight much beyond their capacity. With several accidents that happened in the past few months, a lot of questions were raised at the safety and maintenance of Indian trains.
Stainless steel, which also makes the coaches resistant to corrosion is said to reduce the maintenance costs involved.

“There will be a cent per cent switch to stainless steel which will take about three years but it will provide increased safety to the passengers,” a senior official told Deccan Chronicle.

“There is a common misconception that ICF-manufactured coaches are unsafe. They are not - we have been using them for decades now. No doubt stainless steel improves safety and comes at a greater cost,” the official said.

Also, use of stainless steel will enhance aesthetics, make trains consume less fuel and also, reduce time taken for journeys. So, passengers are not only assured safer but comfortable and faster journeys.