Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, rolls out lightweight parcel coach mark-II

New coaches to aid in quicker, safer transportation of goods in every corner of country

A lightweight parcel coach showcased at the Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala. A Tribune photo

Tribune News Service

Kapurthala, November 7

Achieving another milestone, the Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala, has rolled out a new version of parcel coach — LVPH Mark-II.

Earlier in January, the RCF had rolled out the first 24 ton capacity LHB parcel van Mark-I to deliver light goods to every nook and corner of the country at high speed. These parcel coaches become very useful to the Indian Railways which is facing a stiff competition in the parcel business. Since then, the RCF kept on producing these parcel coaches on a massive scale. The RCF has already delivered 212 parcel coaches in present fiscal.

Now, by bringing some significant design changes and reducing the tare weight of Mark-I by 3 tonnes, the RCF has introduced new version LVPH Mark-II, which is well-endowed to carry heavier parcel goods at faster speed thus giving an impetus to the parcel business.

Under the major design improvements, mild steel luggage racks have been replaced by lightweight stainless-steel racks, while the board and metal flooring has been redesigned to all-metal flooring. The weight of the coach has also been reduced by converting the panelled interior wall to directly painted wall and modifying the design of the roof panel.

The first LVPH Mark-II coach was flagged off from RCF by general manager Ravinder Gupta. Gupta said the Indian Railways, and particularly the Rail Coach Factory, had gone from strength to strength even during the pandemic. During the Covid crisis, RCF continued to manufacture parcel coaches, so that the Indian Railways could transport essential goods in various parts of the country.

Also, the monthly LHB coach production rose to all-time high in the last 18 years, while achieving an outturn of record 5.88 coaches per day in October 2020. With the commissioning of this lighter weight mark-II parcel coach to service, it will make possible to parcel the heavy goods at a high speed and trains now will be able to ferry extra parcel goods equivalent to two coaches.