RCF rolls out 40 Duronto coaches

For safety of passengers,auto-closing,sliding type,end wall vestibule doors have been provided to prevent spread of fire from one coach to another in case of a fire,said the GM. The furnishing material used in the coaches,including LP panels,FRP windows,rexine and PVC,have fire-retardant characteristics. RCF has also developed a new design pantry car for the Duronto trains that has more storage capacity. Presently,AC coaches of these trains will have conventional furnishing,but they will be upgraded to Rajdhani standards,added Kumar.

The 12 new non-stop fast trains announced by the railways minister between select cities will take less time than even the Rajdhani Express to complete their journey. These trains,unlike the Rajdhani Express,will have no intermediate stoppages and run in much the same speed clocked by Rajdhani.

The trains will,however,have technical stoppages at a few stations for facilitating staff and loco change,but the transit time will come down drastically.

All the 12 trains have been announced between cities where the volume of passenger traffic and demand is high.

Double-decker coaches next
RCF sources said the factory has been given another challenge of developing “double-decker coaches” for Indian Railways. RCF has produced non-AC double-decker coaches in the past,which are now running between Pune and Mumbai.

However,these coaches were not accepted well by the general public as the windows of the lower deck were just at the level of the station platform. “The new coaches will be totally different from the old ones. They will be air-conditioned chair cars with curtained windows and will have a stainless steel body,” said RCF sources.

The coaches will also have a high speed potential of up to 160 kmph. These coaches will be used in short-distance intercity trains,on the lines of Shatabdi Express,but traveling in this train will be much cheaper,as these will have higher carrying capacity,said sources.

The first prototype of this type of coach will be ready by the end of this financial year. At present,RCF is working hard to meet the deadline in association with RDSO Lucknow to finalise the design of double-decker coaches.