In the current financial year, the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai plans to manufacture 3,457 coaches, which includes 1,640 Distributed Power Rolling Stock (DPRS) coaches. This will be nearly 22 per cent higher than last year’s production.
In 2023-24, the ICF turned out 2,829 coaches, which includes 1,091 DPRS. “This is an extraordinary achievement since we have never produced so many DPRS coaches in one financial year,” said U Subba Rao, General Manager, ICF.
Vande Bharat
Rao said that production of the first 16-car Vande Bharat sleeper train set is underway at the ICF. The rake is expected to be rolled out shortly after which production of nine more rakes will be taken up.
ICF has also received a fresh production order to manufacture 24 coaches of Vande Bharat trains (sleeper version). These trains will have pantry cars and will cater to the long-distance premium segment. “We hope by August 2026 this train will be in service,” he said, while delivering his Independence Day address on Thursday.
ICF also turned out 75 Vande Bharat train sets till July 2024. Of these, 53 rakes, including one for the Jammu and Kashmir region, were manufactured in 2023-24.
Rao said that 25 Amrit Bharat trains with improved passenger-friendly features along with a pantry coach is in the works. The first rake is likely to be turned from ICF by the last week of October. The Amrit Bharat trains will cater to the non-AC segment.
The first rake of Vande Metro, a 12-car fully air-conditioned train set with features similar to Vande Bharat coaches was turned out in May 2024. The train completed all its trials successfully and has been sent to Western Railway for passenger services. The Vande Bharat metro train will offer a comfortable travel experience to passengers travelling 150-200 km, he said.