Railways to double up production of new age LHB coaches
Railways have decided to double the production of new age LHB coaches keeping in mind their enhanced safety features, which have come in for praise from a high-level safety panel.
The production will be scaled up from about 400 Linke Holfmann Bush (LHB) coaches to 800 coaches, utilising them for running not only for Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto trains but also for running mail and express trains.
The proposal to double up the production of LHB coaches, which are based on German technology, is likely to be part of the 2012-13 rail Budget, said sources in railways.
LHB coaches passed the safety test in 2010 when the coaches of the derailed Bhubaneswar Rajdhani did not topple on one another.
43,000 conventional coaches have been manufactured at the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai in the past 50 years and are widely used in the rail network.
However, the Kakodkar committee, constituted by railways to suggest safety measures, has found that the ICF coach design is a 'serious safety risk'.
The committee has strongly recommended "complete switching over to the the LHB design coaches in all the coach manufacturing units in India and stopping the manufacture of ICF design coaches immediately."
The committee is of the view that ICF design of passenger coaches that served IR for many decades are no more safe at the present operational speeds of 100-120 Kmph with trailing loads of 20-24 coaches.
Post new comment