The Fact News Service
From P.S.Walia Kapurthala
Kapurthala April 3 ; In a revolutionary step to handle the intercity traffic, Rail Coach Factory (RCF) has started manufacturing Vande Metro Coaches and the first train comprising of 16 coaches will be rolled out by the month of May said General manager S.Srinivas.
He further said that first prototype will be readied by the end of this month for testing in the factory adding that twelve shells have been manufactured and presently in the furnishing shop for its interior furnishing and factory has completed more than 70 percent work to manufacture the first rake of 16 coaches.
After rolling out of the factory, these coaches would be put on trials by railways and on its completion be put into service said the official.
GM said that nine more vande metro trains would be manufactured during this financial year.
Vande Metro is designed on the concept of India’s first indigenous semi-high speed train Vande Bharat to cater to intercity passengers covering up to a distance of 250 kms.
Vande Metro train is similar to Vande Bharat. It will be a 16 air conditioned coaches train, having a maximum speed of 130 km per hour. This train is meant for intercity traffic,” Srinivas told PTI.
Narrating the details about the train, RCF general manager said each coach will have the capacity to carry 280 passengers –100 seating capacity and 180 standing capacity.
The total passengers carrying capacity will be 4,364 passengers in a rake of 16 coaches, disclosed the GM.
The 3×3 bench-type seating arrangement maximizes passenger capacity, providing a comfortable medium distance commute.
Prioritizing passenger communications, Vande Metro coaches will be equipped with a passenger talk back system to communicate with the train driver in case of emergencies.
Each coach will be equipped with a fire and smoke detection system with 14 sensors in each coach, he added.
There will be a wheel-chair accessible lavatory in coaches, he further said.
The train will be equipped with the Kavach system, which is a pivotal measure to prevent collisions, he said .
RCF is a production unit of Indian Railways have manufactured 1901 coaches during 2023-24 and railway board has given the target to manufacture 2571 coaches of different categories during this financial year.RCF has contributed more than 43thouand coaches of different variants since its inception in 1988.
