MINISTER OF THE STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF RAILWAYS (SHRI ADHIR RANJAN CHOWDHURY)
(a) to (f) A Statement is laid on the Table of the House.
STATEMENT REFERRED TO IN REPLY TO PARTS (a) TO (f) OF UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2495 BY SHRI
ANANDRAO ADSUL, SHRI C. RAJENDRAN, SHRI S.R. JEYADURAI, SHRI ADHALRAO PATIL SHIVAJI, SHRI
DHARMENDRA YADAV AND SHRI GAJANAN D. BABAR TO BE ANSWERED IN LOK SABHA ON 06.02.2014 REGARDING
SHORTAGE OF COACHES AND WAGONS.
(a) & (b) There is no shortage of coaches at present to run the existing notified trains with
scheduled composition in the available infrastructure. Besides, Railways take special measures
to run additional trains, augment popular trains to meet demand in peak rush season by deploying
additional coaches from available resources. There is also no shortage of Wagons.
(c) Yes, Madam. The codal life of conventional type of Integral Coach Factory( ICF) design
coaches is 25 years and Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) design Stainless Steel coaches are 35 years.
Productions of coaches in last three years are as under:-
Year No. of coaches produced
2010-11 3660
2011-12 3637
2012-13 4023
2013-14 2614 (upto December 2013)
These are utilized against replacement and introduction of trains, augmentation and to run
special trains. Also, the codal life of different type of wagons varies from 25 years to 40
years based on the design of wagons.
Number of wagon inducted in last three years & this year are as under:-
Year No. of wagon inducted
2010-11 16638
2011-12 18357
2012-13 16894
2013-14 7840 (upto December 2013)
These are utilized against replacement and commercial use.
(d) & (e) No, Madam. Coaches completing the permitted service life are withdrawn from
passenger services by zonal railways. Prescribed maintenance scheduled at primary and
secondary examination points and periodic overhauling in workshops are being followed
for ensuring safety. Besides, enroute examination of coaches during run at designated
stations is also done as preventive measures to ensure safety of coaches. Railways have
been advised for locking of coaches whenever these are stabled in the yard, for long
durations, for security purposes.
On completion of life period or codal life of a wagon, it is removed from service and condemned.
Only departmental wagons have been permitted on few occasions for upto 50 years of service based
on their condition with the approval of competent authority.
(f) Detail and present status of new Rail coach factories are as under:-
Rail Coach Factory at Raebareli
The factory has been inaugurated on 7th November, 2012 and 70 coaches have been turned out
during the year, 2012-13. 52 coaches have been turned out during 2013-14 upto Dec., 2013.
Diesel Multiple Unit (DMU) at Haldia
Infrastructure work has been completed for furnishing DEMU coaches on the shells being supplied
by ICF. Shells being received from ICF are being taken up for furnishing.
Rail Coach factory at Palakkad
M/s RITES have been appointed as consultant for bid process management. Request for Qualification
(RFQ) was floated on 09.09.2013 and has been opened on 5.12.2013. Work of Boundary wall &
peripheral works at site has also started.
Rail Coach Factory at Kanchrapara
Rail Coach Factory at Kanchrapara in West Bengal: The Cabinet approved setting up of a new Rail
Coach Manufacturing unit at Kanchrapara, West Bengal to manufacture 500/MEMU/Metro coaches per
annum as a joint venture with the partner selected through international competitive bidding.
Bidders have been short listed after pre-qualification for participation in the financial bid
stage.
Main Line Electric Multiple Unit (MEMU) at Bhilwara
Setting up of Mainline Electrical Multiple Unit (MEMU) coach manufacturing facility by Bharat
Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL), at Bhilwara, Rajasthan: Memorandum of Understanding (MoU)
for setting up of Greenfield MEMU coach factory by BHEL for Indian Railways, has been signed
on 25.02.2013. The site has been identified near Gulabpura town at 56 km from Bhilwara city.
Government of Rajasthan (GoR) has allotted 517 acres of land free of Cost to Ministry of
Railways. MoU for transfer of land has been sighed by Ministry of Railways and Govt. of
Rajasthan on 21.09.2013.
Coach factories proposed to be set up
Rail Coach Factories at Kolar, Kutch, Sonepat have also been announced in the Railway Budgets.
The progresses on these are at various stages of co-ordination with state governments and
getting necessary approvals.
