Chennai: The Railway Board has sanctioned Rs 341 crore to a project aimed at a complete switch over to stainless steel coaches, which was for long, awaiting commission, Integral Coach Factory officials have said.
According to senior ICF officials, the project was sanctioned during this budget. Once the estimates are submitted, tenders will be floated so that within a span of four years, all coaches that are rolled out of the ICF manufacturing unit are made of stainless steel.
“As the amount of Rs. 341 crore has been sanctioned now, the estimates, preparation work has started already, and work on approvals is in the initial stages. It will be a while before tenders are floated for the same,” said a senior official.
He added that the project was on the cards, but since the official confirmation of the project has come in only now, a detailed estimate preparation will be undertaken. “Within the next three-four years, all coaches will be manufactured in stainless steel,” he said.
Stainless steel makes coaches more durable and provides increased safety to coaches. These coaches are lighter by 40 percent, but can handle more payloads. Due to its better shock-bearing capacity and lower ductility, stainless steel instead of Corten steel ensures that the coach endures damage better than the conventional ICF-manufactured coaches.
Till now, stainless steel was used exclusively for the production of Linke Hoffman Busch (LHB), some EMU (Electric Multiple Units) and DEMU (Diesel Multiple Units) coaches.
