As part of the initiative to offer enhanced safety and travelling comfort to the passengers, the Railways is to introduce Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches in the 12624/12623 Thiruvananthapuram Central-Chennai Central-Thiruvananthapuram Central Superfast Expreses from next week.
The rake with LHB coaches will start plying from Chennai Central to Thiruvananthapuram Central on January 18 and from Thiruvananthapuram Central to Chennai Central on January 19, a senior railway official told The Hindu here on Wednesday.
Threes rakes have been made available for the Southern Railway to switch over the LHB coaches for the prestigous Chennai Mail operating in the highly-demanding Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai sector.
At present, the Rajadhani Expresses operating in the New Delhi-Thiruvananthapuram Central-New Delhi, the Kochuveli-Indore-Kochuveli Weekly Expresses and the Ernakulam-Hatia-Ernakulam Superfast Express and back are operating with LHB coaches.
The introduction of LHB coaches is part of the decision to introduce them in mail and express trains in a phased manner. LHB coaches based on German technology were initially confined to RajdhaniExpress, Shatabdi Express and Duronto trains.
The raiwlays has decided to replace all old coaches of mail and express trains by LHB coaches by the end of 2019-2020. Compared to the ₹ 1.5 crore needed to manufacture a conventional coach, a LHB coach will cost the railways around ₹ 2.5 crore.
Developed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch of Germany (renamed Alstom LHB GmbH in 1998 after the takeover by Alstom) and produced by Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala, the coaches are designed for an operating speed up to 160 km per hour. The length of 23.54 m and a width of 3.24 m means a higher passenger capacity, compared to conventional rakes.
They are considered to be “anti-telescopic” (they do not get turned over or flip in case of a collision). The coaches are made of stainless steel and interiors are made of aluminium to make them lighter. Advanced pneumatic disc brake system for efficient braking at higher speeds, modular interiors, improved suspension system and modern air conditioning system are the sailent features of the LHB coaches.
Only secondary check of the LHB coaches comprising of safety check and cleaning will be taking place in Kerala, the official said, adding primary maintenance of the coaches will be carried out in Delhi.
EOM/ARK
