Kochi: The Chennai Mail will be the first daily running train in the Thiruvananthapuram division to feature the German technology-based LHB (Linke Holfmann Busch) coaches that have more inbuilt safety measures than the traditional ICF coaches.
“The coaches will be deployed in the Chennai Mail from January 18 (T No 12623/ 12624 Chennai-Thiruvananthapuram-Chennai). So far only the Rajdhani Express had featured the coaches. This is the first time, a daily train will have LHB coaches,” said a senior railway official. LHB coaches made of stainless steel have more inbuilt safety features as they can absorb the shock and impact of a derailment more effectively and as a result do not topple, thus reducing the loss of lives in case of an accident, the official said. “An LHB coach has the anti-climbing or anti-telescopic feature in-built which means that one coach will never climb or slide into another.
The other aspect is the coupling between coaches, known technically as Centre Buffer Coupling. This is a big safety feature between coaches,” he said. Though the railways allotted the modern LHB coach rake to the division two years ago, the first time in the entire Southern division, to operate the Thiruvananthapuram-Nizamuddhin weekly Express, the railway safety commissioner denied permission since there were three coaches short for the formation and it was sent back to Mumbai. “An LHB coach has most of its heavier components under the passenger cabins which prevent crushing of coaches lengthwise upon mishaps. Another advantage of the rake is that they feature bio-toilets,” the official said.
