CHENNAI: Looking forward to offer quality ride with reduced noise levels and advanced security and safety facilities to passengers, the first set of Link Hoffman Bosch (LHB) AC 3-tier coaches were flagged off by railway minister Suresh Prabhu on Friday.
The minister inaugurated the coaches from Thiruvananthapuram station through video conferencing and said the new coaches will be yet another milestone to ICF and Southern Railway. With the new model of LHB coaches, passengers can experience a more secure travel with less bogie sound, an issue prevalent in traditional rakes for decades.
The LHB coach manufactured by ICF, based on German technology, offers improved ride quality with noise levels restricted to 60 decibels with sound insulation coating and floor decoupling elements and cushioned seats provided in all coaches. “These LHB coach with state-of-art facilities is fixed with high speed FIAT bogies for which the speed can be upgraded up to 200 kmph”, said L.C. Trivedi, chief mechanical engineer, ICF. The new LHB coach is also embedded with anti-injury features provided in all furnishings and fittings with amenity fittings made from stainless steel and with high speed bolster. In the current year, ICF is looking to manufacture 40 such LHB coaches that will be handed over to railways, said K.Babu, secretary to ICF GM.
Apart from the AC 3-tier coach, the last of the seven LHB power car coaches and the 24th EMU rake of MRVC phase-2 were also flagged off by the minister. While the LHB power coach will be operated in Southern Railway, the EMU rake will be operated in Western Railway in Mumbai zone.
