Indian Railways upgrades trains! The national transporter has decided to replace the existing rakes of two more trains with modern Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches. Recently, Indian Railways has decided to convert the conventional rakes of Konkan Kanya Express train and Mandovi Express train into LHB rakes. The step is being taken in order to provide better safety and comfortable journey experience to railway passengers. As compared to the conventional Integral Coach Factory (ICF) coaches, the LHB coaches boast several modern features. The LHB design coaches are lighter with anti-climbing features. Also, they have a higher passenger capacity as well as speed. These coaches also support superior braking features. The LHB coaches are also equipped with anti-collision technology. This feature prevents them from crashing into each other in case of an accident.
According to details shared by Indian Railways, from 10 June 2019 to 31 August 2019, train number 10111/10112 Mumbai-Madgaon Konkan Kanya Express and train number 10103/10104 Mumbai-Madgaon Mandovi Express will have 22 LHB coaches including one First AC cum AC 2 Tier, one AC 2 Tier, four AC 3 Tier, two general second seating, eleven sleeper class as well as one pantry car coaches.
However, from 1 September 2019, the composition of train number 10111/10112 Mumbai-Madgaon Konkan Kanya Express as well as train number 10103/10104 Mumbai-Madgaon Mandovi Express will consist of 22 LHB coaches on a permanent basis. This will include one First AC cum AC 2 Tier, one AC 2 Tier, four AC 3 Tier, nine sleeper class (in Mondovi Express nine sleeper class includes three reserved second seating), four general second seating and one pantry car coaches.
Earlier this year, Indian Railways created a record by manufacturing more LHB coaches in the last two years than it did in the first 17 years since their introduction. In the year 2017, ICF Chennai developed the first 100% LHB coach under Modi government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. The modern LHB coaches are rapidly replacing the old ICF design coaches. Also, the production of ICF design coaches has been stopped completely now. The Railway Ministry aims to replace all old ICF design coaches with LHB ones in the coming years.