Kapurthala Rail Coach Factory goes for design improvement

The Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala, is working to reduce the weight of Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches, which will make them more efficient, help in saving energy and increase the speed of trains.

An LHB coach weighs around 46 tonne. It is one of the lightest coaches running in trains across the world.

Several design improvements have been made to the LHB coach shell, furnishings and electrical fittings to reduce weight. These improvements have made AC first class, AC-2 tier, AC-3 tier, sleeper and general coaches lighter by 7 quintal to 1.5 tonne.

By adequate weight reduction, haulage cost will be reduced, which in turn, will save energy. The number of coaches per train can also be increased.

With the Indian Railways aiming to increase the speed of trains, these light weight LHB coaches will contribute to faster train travel.

Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala

Rail Coach Factory at Kapurthala is a coach manufacturing unit of the Indian Railways in the state of Punjab. It is located on the Jalandhar-Firozpur railway line.

Established in 1986, RCF is a coach manufacturing unit of Indian Railways. It has manufactured more than 30000 passenger coaches of different types including self-propelled passenger vehicles which constitute over 50% of the total population of coaches on Indian Railways. It is a production unit with a target of 1025 coaches per year.