The Integral Coach Factory (ICF), a unit of the Indian Railways is well-equipped to manufacture coaches for Metro Rail, but it is not allowed to participate in the tender process because of technical reasons, said Ashok K. Agarwal, ICF general manager.
“If we can supply coaches to Calcutta Metro why not to Chennai Metro? Moreover, we can manufacture coaches for a cost 30 to 40 per cent less than other companies,” he told The Hindu .
ICF has supplied 13 rakes (eight coaches each) of fully air-conditioned stainless steel body Metro coaches to Kolkata between 2011 and 2013, and has an order for manufacturing two more rakes with the latest three-phase insulated-gate bipolar transistor (IGBT) technology during the current production year.
Mr. Agarwal, who is also holding additional charge as general manager of the Southern Railways, said the ICF was not eligible to participate in the tender process, because it was only a coach builder and it depended on other companies like Bharat Heavy Electrical (BHEL) and MEDHA for electrics.
Since Calcutta Metro is run by Indian Railways, ICF was given the order to supply the coaches. In the case of Metro Rail companies in other cities, as they are PSUs and under global tenders, it was mandatory for a coaching factory to manufacture everything under one unit. The new Metro Rail projects are mostly funded by the World Bank or the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and they have a say in deciding the eligibility condition for the global tenders for coaches.
“This is the only reason preventing us from supplying coaches to other Metros, including Chennai Metro,” Mr. Agarwal said.
The ICF is also manufacturing luxury coaches on a par with international standards. The Golden Chariot, Palace on Wheels, Deccan Odyssey and the Maharaja’s Express are some of the luxury trains created in the ICF.
“It is only a question of money. Depending on the investment, we will manufacture coaches,” Mr. Agarwal said.
