CHENNAI: With modernisation works under phase-I completed, the Integral Coach Factory began expansion works under phase II recently. The ICF has now declared that it will achieve the phase I target of producing 3,400 coaches by 2020. 

As part of the phase II expansion, the ICF has kick-started the works for building shell unit for the LHB coaches at the land on the eastern side of shell division that shares border with the adjacent Perambur loco works. For this purpose, a parcel of land owned by Perambur loco works was formally transferred to the ICF. 

According to Shubhransu, Principal Chief Mechanical Engineer, ICF, the manufacturing capacity has been augmented to produce 900 coaches additionally in the last two years.”We will build 3,200 coaches including 2,000 LHB coaches by March this year while in 2016-17 the ICF production stood at 2,277 coaches. For  2019-20, we will comfortably roll out 3,400 coaches.” 

He noted that ICF modernisation works mainly involved enhancing the efficiency of resources without physically creating new infrastructure. “We have upgraded the spring and wheel manufacturing lines which make part of coach bogie. The ICF has, so far, relied on private suppliers for these materials which play crucial role in ensuring the safety of trains,” said Shubhransu.  

He added that the average employees production rate per coach was 5.2 in 2016-17 in the ICF. It was reduced to 4.4 in 2017-18 and further reduced to 3.3 in 2018-19. 

The sprawling 468-acre ICF complex has a shell division that produces skeletons of coaches at the Ayanavaram facility, while furnishing division designs and development centre and rail museum situated on the New Avadi Road.

Official sources said expansion works under phase II involved shifting shell manufacturing unit of the LHB coaches from the furnishing division to the shell division thereby dedicating the space for furnishing coaches. The ICF produces 15 variants of coaches including Electrical Multiple Unit (EMU),  Mainline Electrical Multiple Unit (MEMU), Diesel Electrical Multiple Unit (DEMU) and LHB coaches. “The present shell division is provisioned with the infrastructure to build shell for all types of coaches, except LHB. A few years ago when the ICF entered into the large-scale production of LHB coaches,  the shell unit for such coaches was set up at furnishing division owing to shortage of space in the shell division.