Integral Coach Factory, Chennai, one of the top coach manufacturing units of the Indian Railways, manufactured 2,829 coaches in 2023-24, a marginal increase over 2,702 in the previous year.

The production in FY24 was the highest number of DPRS (distributed power rolling stock) coaches with 1,091. Earlier, the highest production of DPRS coaches was 996 in the production year 2018-19. The remaining 1,738 were LHB coaches, says a release.

DPRS type of coaches include coaches for Vande Bharat train sets, Electric Multiple Units, Mainline Electric Multiple Units, Self -propelled Inspection Cars and Self-propelled Accident Relief Trains. They are self-propelled coaches with engines as part of passenger area and the propulsion power distributed among units of 3 or 4 as in Vande Bharat. The conventional trains will have only one loco at one end, so it’s not distributed power. In other words, the coach itself is a loco or engine.

The other highlights of 2023-24 production by ICF include the highest number of 51 Vande Bharat rakes by ICF. During the previous year, 12 rakes of Vande Bharat trains were manufactured by ICF.

During FY24, two rakes of 22 coaches each for Amrit Bharat Express, which provides better facilities for long distance passengers in unreserved coaches, such as folding snack table, mobile holders, cushioned luggage rakes, charging points, were manufactured.

In FY24, the ICF also manufactured the highest number of 19 Self-propelled Inspection Cars for safety inspections in the Zonal Railways; the first Oscillograph Monitoring Car for RDSO, Lucknow, that will help Indian Railways to validate the quality of journey for passengers in new coaches, the release said.

In the current fiscal, ICF is expected to start production of Vande Metro. It could also start manufacturing of Vande Sleeper, once BEML rolls out the prototype and is approved.

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