Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala
Coach manufacturing unit of the Indian Railways
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The Rail Coach Factory at Kapurthala is a coach manufacturing unit of the Indian Railways in the Indian state of Punjab. It was set up in the year 1985 with an investment of ₹423 crore (US$342 million) in order to enhance production capacity for India's railways and generate employment for the youth of the state.[5][1] The unit is located on the Jalandhar-Firozpur railway line, and currently, has the job of manufacturing new LHB and MEMU coaches.[4]
RCF | |
| Company type | Indian Railways coach production unit |
|---|---|
| Industry | Rail transport |
| Founded | 17 August 1986[1] |
| Headquarters | Kapurthala, Punjab, India - 144602 |
Area served | India |
Key people | Shri S.S Mishra (General Manager)[2][3] |
| Products | Rolling stock |
Production output | 1862 coaches (2021-2022) |
| Total assets | ₹2,097 crore (US$250 million) (2022) |
| Owner | Indian Railways |
Number of employees | 6624 (2022) |
| Website | rcf |
| Footnotes / references [4] | |
History
The foundation stone for Rail Coach Factory was laid by then Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi on 17 August 1985 with an initial cost of ₹423 crore (US$50 million). The objective of this project was to enhance production capacity for the Railways and generate employment for the youth of Punjab. The unit commenced production just 2 years later on 19 September 1987, and rolled out its first coach a few months later on 31 March 1988.[1][6]
As of March 2022, it has manufactured more than 41,000 coaches of over 60 different types, which make up over 50% of the total production of coaches on Indian Railways.[4] Some of these are:
- 'Tejas' high-speed coach (produced only by RCF Kapurthala)
- Non-AC general coach (BG/MG)
- Non-AC luggage-cum-brake van (BG/MG)
- Refrigerated parcel van (BG)
- Accident relief train (BG)
Production
During FY 2021-22, Rail Coach Factory produced 1862 coaches, which was its highest ever. Out of these, 1840 were stainless steel LHB coaches, while the remaining 22 were 3-phase MEMU coaches. During this year, the unit also crossed the 40,000 mark in cumulative coach production.[7] Up until March 2022, RCF has produced 41,014 coaches of more than 60 design variants, both AC and non-AC. This comprises more than 50% of the total stock of coaches running on Indian Railways.[4] The factory, in association with DRDE, has also developed a highly cost-effective indigenous technology for the treatment of biowaste in coaches.[8]
During FY 2015-16, the factory manufactured 120 LHB coaches to be exported to Bangladesh at an estimated cost of ₹367 crore (US$43 million), with the first consignment of 40 sets dispatched in March 2016.[9][10] Before this (in 2006), the factory had already exported metre gauge coaches to Myanmar and Senegal.[11][4][1]
See also
- Diesel Locomotive Factory, Marhowrah
- Electric Locomotive Factory, Madhepura
- Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, Asansol
- Banaras Locomotive Works, Varanasi
- Integral Coach Factory, Chennai
- Modern Coach Factory, Raebareli
- Rail Wheel Plant, Bela
- Rail Wheel Factory, Yelahanka
- Titagarh Wagons, Titagarh
- List of locomotive builders by countries