| Integral Coach Factory (ICF) coach | |
|---|---|
 Yellow ("Utkrisht"livery) and blue ("Blue" livery) ICF coaches. | |
| Designer | Swiss Car & Elevator Manufacturing Co |
| Built at | |
| Constructed | 1955–2018 |
| Scrapped | c. 2000s–2009 (PNR) |
| Number built | More than 54,000, 601 for export |
| Number scrapped |
|
| Successor |
|
| Operators |
|
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Stainless steel andcorten steel |
| Car length | 22,297 mm (73 ft 1.8 in) overbuffers |
| Width | 3,245 mm (10 ft 7.8 in) |
| Height | 4,025 mm (13 ft 2.5 in) |
| Floor height | 1,313 mm (4 ft 3.7 in) |
| Wheelbase | 14,783 mm (48 ft 6.0 in) |
| Maximum speed | 130 km/h (81 mph) |
| Bogies | ICF Bogies |
| Minimum turning radius | 152.4 m (500 ft) |
| Coupling system | Buffers and chain coupler,AAR H Type Tightlock CBC coupling |
| Track gauge | 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) |
TheIntegral Coach Factory (ICF)coach is a conventionalpassenger coach used on the majority ofIndian Railways (IR) lines.[1] Between 1955 and 2018, more than 54,000 were produced and some were exported to other countries.[2]
The design of the coach was developed byIntegral Coach Factory,Perambur,Chennai,India in collaboration with theSwiss Car & Elevator Manufacturing Co,Schlieren, Switzerland. Thebogies were also known asSchlieren bogies after the location of the Swiss company.[3]
An Indian delegation made initial contacts with the Swiss manufacturer at a railway congress inLucerne in the summer of 1947, the contract for cooperation between the company and the Government of India was signed in Delhi in May 1949, and work on the Perambur factory began a year later. The plant was inaugurated by Prime MinisterJawaharlal Nehru in 1955.[4][5] By 2018, it had manufactured more than 54,000 coaches,[2] of which 601 were exported to countries such asTaiwan,Zambia,Tanzania,Uganda,Vietnam,Nigeria,Bangladesh,Mozambique,Angola andSri Lanka.[6] The last ICF coach was flagged off on 19 January 2018 by senior technician P. Bhaskar in the presence of Railway Board chairmanAshwani Lohani.[7]
In April 2018, the Indian Railways launched a refurbishment programme calledUtkrisht ('excellence') to refurbish and modernise ICF coaches in 640 rakes.[8]
With a total cost of₹4 billion (equivalent to₹11 billion or US$130 million in 2023), the refurbishment included a newbeige andmaroon livery, LED fixtures, upgradedbio-toilets with odour control, assistivebraille signage, and improved trash disposal.[9]
Central Railways is converting ICF coaches having a residual life of 5 years into accident relief and new modified goods-high speed (NMGH) automobile carrier rakes. As of September 2023, 57 ICF coaches have been converted into NMGH rakes and 4 ICF coaches have been converted into accident relief trains.[10]
ThePhilippine National Railways (PNR) had already withdrawn the last of its ICF coaches from service in 2009.[1] 60 coaches were delivered to PNR between 1975 and 1979.[6]
Since their introduction in 1955 with a brick red livery, the ICF coaches were repainted blue in the 1990s, and in beige and red since 2018.[11]
India's premier trains - theRajdhani,Shatabdi,Duronto andGarib Rath were introduced with ICF rakes. All of these trains have been upgraded withLHB rakes.
