The Hindu Business Line : ICF to expand capacity: Velu

THE annual production capacity at the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) is to be increased to 1,250 coaches from 1,000, according to Minister of State for Railways, Mr R. Velu.

The ICF, which is in its golden jubilee year, is working out details of the capacity increase in various departments, he told presspersons.

In the year ending March 31, 2006 the target for ICF is to manufacture 1,109 coaches (against 1,119 in the year ending March 31, 2005), and an additional 56 coaches for export to Angola. The value of return (budget estimate) for the current fiscal for ICF is likely to be Rs 768 crore (Rs 674.54 crore in actual). The Budget grant for 2005-06 to produce 1,109 coaches is Rs 767 crore, and of this Rs 479 crore has been allotted for materials and stores, he said.

The ICF has designed a Self Propelled Ultrasonic Rail Testing (SPURT) car to detect internal defects in the rail by using ultrasonic testing equipment, and the design was done in 3D using Solidworks (a solid modelling software). The testing equipment developed and manufactured by Scanmaster, Israel, has been fitted in the coach, and two prototypes have been manufactured and ready for deployment, he said.

The design of a high-speed self-propelled accident relief train consisting of three coaches (supervisory-cum-kitchen van, medical van and tool van) is also under development at the ICF. This train is aimed at providing a mobile hospital containing all necessary medical and relief equipment, including a fully equipped air-conditioned operation theatre. The train is capable of running at a speed of 110 km per hour, he said.

According to Mr Velu, ICF is likely to produce 56 coaches (seven rakes) for the Kolkata Metro system next year. For the Mumbai Vikas Corporation project, the ICF would supply 101 rakes of dual voltage (AC/DC) EMU coaches for Mumbai suburban system.

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