The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) coach is a conventional passenger coach used on the majority of Indian Railways (IR) lines.[1] Between 1955 and 2018, more than 54,000 were produced and some were exported to other countries.[2] The coaches are to be phased out by 2030.[3]
An Indian delegation made initial contacts with the Swiss manufacturer at a railway congress in Lucerne in the summer of 1947, the contract for cooperation between the company and the Government of India was signed in Delhi in May 1949, and work on the Perambur factory began a year later. The plant was inauguration by Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru in 1955.[5][6] By 2018, it had manufactured more than 54,000 coaches,[2] of which 601 were exported to countries such as Taiwan, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Mozambique, Angola and Sri Lanka.[7] The last ICF coach was flagged off on 19 January 2018 by senior technician P. Bhaskar in the presence of Railway Board chairman Ashwani Lohani.[8]
In April 2018, the Indian Railways launched a refurbishment programme called Utkrisht ('excellence') to refurbish and modernise ICF coaches in 640 rakes.[9]
With a total cost of ₹4 billion (equivalent to ₹11 billion or US$130 million in 2023), the refurbishment included a new beige and maroon livery, LED fixtures, upgraded bio-toilets with odour control, assistive braille signage, and improved trash disposal.[10]
Indian Railways plans to retire all ICF coaches by 2030, replacing them with LHB and Vande Bharat trainsets.[3]
Central Railways is converting ICF coaches having a residual life of 5 years into accident relief and new modified goods-high speed (NMGH) automobile carrier rakes. As of September 2023, 57 ICF coaches have been converted into NMGH rakes and 4 ICF coaches have been converted into accident relief trains.[11]
The Philippine National Railways (PNR) had already withdrawn the last of its ICF coaches from service in 2009.[1] 60 coaches were delivered to PNR between 1975 and 1979.[7]
All of India's premier trainsets – the Rajdhani, Shatabdi and Duronto – and Garib Rath were introduced with ICF rakes. Garib Rath is the only trainset that continues to use ICF coaches to date, while the rest have been moved to LHB coaches.
