Indian tracks to slay with superfast trains! ICF to manufacture four more Train 18, this current year

New Delhi, December 11: With smooth trials and transitions, the railway tracks experienced the suave Train 18 reining the tracks like a king. Being a major success, the Indian Railways first engine less train for long distance, Train 18 proved to be a super hit. Under this perspective, the Indian Railways have asked the Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Chennai to expedite manufacturing of more such train sets.

 

As per the issued notice, the Indian Railway Board has asked ICF to now manufacture 4 more trains like Train 18 in the current production year. Earlier, the ICF had the mandate to manufacture one more train till March 2019. But with the major success coming in way of Indian Railways with this super-fast train, the ICF has to now manufacture four more of these Train 18 rakes in the current year.

According to the circular, the Railway Board appreciated the success of “new indigenous train set (T-18)”. The circular adds that necessary changes in the production programme (of ICF) will be communicated shortly. In the meantime, ICF has been asked to start procuring material and also schedule the production activities to achieve the revised target.

Train 18 is an all air-conditioned chair car that was envisioned to replace Shatabdi Express trains on the Indian Railways network. The first prototype was rolled out by ICF, Chennai in end-October and since then the train has been undergoing extensive speed trials by RDSO. Recently, Train 18 became the fastest Indian Railways train, hitting speeds of over 180 kmph during its trials on a section of the Delhi-Mumbai Rajdhani route. It surpassed the record of Gatimaan Express which operates at 160 kmph.