Indian Railways will most likely get its first-ever Aluminium coaches by February 2022. Rajdhani and Shatabdi trains would be among the first premium trains to get aluminium coaches
In major infrastructure and technology revamp mode, Indian Railways is planning to add several Aluminium coaches by February next year. The Madras Coach Factory (MCF), Raebareli, is already looking to manufacture Aluminium coaches for the trains.
The first set produced will consist of three Aluminium coaches. These will be hinged to Kolkata Metro by February 2021. MCF signed a deal with a South Korean firm Dawonsys, worth Rs 128 crore, to accomplish the feat. However, manufacturing got delayed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to a recent TOI report.
The coaches will be designed and manufactured in South Korea and will be exported to India, where the assembling will be executed, the national daily report added. The design for the metro coaches will likely be finalised by the end of this month.
A railway official was quoted in the report saying, “The South Korean firm will share the designs and once MCF approves they will be made in South Korea and brought in India in knocked down condition”. To begin with, “Dawonsys will manufacture these coaches in South Korea and slowly the transfer of technology will take place to MCF,” the official added.
The deal struck between the two firms also includes three AC-3 Tier Sleeper, two AC-2 Tier Sleeper, one AC-1 Sleeper, one AC Hot Buffet Car, and one AC DSLR with Drive/Guard cabin. The above-mentioned broad-gauge locomotive-hauled sleeper coaches will be able to attain 160kmph; however, designs for self-propelled coaches with the top speed of 225kmph will also be provided by the South Korean firm.
For the unversed, Railways currently have coaches made of stainless steel. The designs for self-propelled aluminium coaches with speeds of up to 225 kmph will help MCF manufacture Shatabdi-style aluminium coaches. The coaches will enable Indian Railways to run superior train sets in line with its aim to connect major cities with chair car train services.
Why Aluminium coaches are better?
- Aluminium coaches are corrosion resistant which means Railways will have coaches with an increased life of 40 years.
- These coaches are lighter as compared to stainless steel coaches resulting in better fuel efficiency and subsequently lower haulage cost.
- Being lighter also ensures increased speeds of the train which will cut travel time and increase average speed.
- Aluminium coaches will be equipped with modular interiors with removable components for easy retrofitment and maintenance.
- With reduced wear and tear of components, the life cycle cost will be low.
- Hollow extrusion design of the coach allows for commendable crashworthiness in case of an accident which means that casualties will low in case of such an incident.
- It takes lesser time to manufacture Aluminium coaches than stainless steel coaches.
The Railway Board has given a green signal to the deal of making 500 aluminium coaches and will surpass the quality of Shatabdi and Rajdhani coaches in terms of interior, exterior, safety, and comfort.
To recall, Railways had awarded a Transfer of Technology (ToT) contract to the Korean company last year for the development of capabilities for production to the commissioning of aluminium-bodied coaches. The ToT has been awarded by the Modern Coach Factory in Rae Bareli to acquire the capability to make world-class aluminium coaches.
This ToT included development (prototyping), designing, manufacturing as well as testing of aluminium body passenger coaches of eight variants. Out of the eight variants, five variants are of broad gauge loco-hauled coaches, while three variants are of standard gauge metro coaches. These Aluminium-bodied coaches may be capable of attaining speeds of up to 250 kmph – in line with Indian Railways dream of semi-high speed train travel.
