Indian Railways today got its first-ever air-conditioned Diesel Electrical Multiple Unit (DEMU) - self-propelled units consisting of driving power cars and trailer cars - manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory, Chennai.
Ashok K Agarwal, General Manager, ICF, flagged off the coaches from the factory.
ICF had started manufacturing DEMUs in 1993 with the introduction of 700 hp DEMU rakes of six-car formation, including two driving power cars. About 50 train sets of 700 hp DEMU were made till the year 2000.
Since then 137 train sets of 1400 hp DEMUs have been manufactured at the ICF. All the DEMU trains, provided with cushioned seats, have large windows with glass shutters.
To enhance the passenger comfort in DEMU trains, out of the eight-car formation, two AC coaches are being attached and the remaining non-AC coaches will cater to the general passengers, says a press release from ICF.