ICF coach

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Type of coach used by Indian Railways

title: "ICF coach" type: doc version: 1 created: 2026-02-28 author: "Wikipedia contributors" status: active scope: public tags: ["railway-coaches-of-india"] description: "Type of coach used by Indian Railways" topic_path: "geography/india" source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ICF_coach" license: "CC BY-SA 4.0" wikipedia_page_id: 0 wikipedia_revision_id: 0

::summary Type of coach used by Indian Railways ::

::data[format=table title="Infobox train"]

FieldValue
nameIntegral Coach Factory (ICF) coach
image{{Photomontage
photo1bGorakdham Express - AC 3 Tier.jpg
captionICF coaches in various paint schemes
designerSwiss Cars and Elevator Manufacturing Co.
Integral Coach Factory
factory
yearconstruction1955–2018
successorLHB coach (IR)
(PNR)
operator{{collapsible list
titleList
bulletstrue
1Indian Railways
2Angola Railway
3Bangladesh Railway
4Mozambique Railway
5Nigerian Railway Corporation
6Philippine National Railways
7Sri Lanka Railway
8Taiwan Railway
9Tanzania Railways Corporation
10Uganda Railways Corporation
11Vietnam Railways
12Zambia Railway
carbodyStainless steel and Weathering steel
carlength22297 mm over buffers
width3245 mm
height4025 mm
floorheight1313 mm
wheelbase14783 mm
maxspeed110-140 kph
bogiesICF Bogies
minimum curve152.4 m
couplingBuffers and chain coupler, Knuckle coupler
gauge
numberbuilt54,000+
::

| name = Integral Coach Factory (ICF) coach | image = {{Photomontage |position=center |photo1a=Red Colored ICF coaches of Indian Railways in Delhi.jpg |photo1b=Gorakdham Express - AC 3 Tier.jpg | photo1c=First AC coach of Nauchandi Express.jpg |size=300 |spacing=2 |color=white |border=0}} | caption = ICF coaches in various paint schemes | stocktype = | designer = Swiss Cars and Elevator Manufacturing Co. Integral Coach Factory | factory = | yearconstruction = 1955–2018 | yearscrapped = | numberscrapped = | successor = LHB coach (IR) (PNR) | operator = {{collapsible list | title = List | bullets = true | 1 = Indian Railways | 2 = Angola Railway | 3 = Bangladesh Railway | 4 = Mozambique Railway | 5 = Nigerian Railway Corporation | 6 = Philippine National Railways | 7 = Sri Lanka Railway | 8 = Taiwan Railway | 9 = Tanzania Railways Corporation | 10 = Uganda Railways Corporation | 11 = Vietnam Railways | 12 = Zambia Railway | carbody = Stainless steel and Weathering steel | carlength = 22297 mm over buffers | width = 3245 mm | height = 4025 mm | floorheight = 1313 mm | wheelbase = 14783 mm | maxspeed = 110-140 kph | bogies = ICF Bogies | minimum curve = 152.4 m | coupling = Buffers and chain coupler, Knuckle coupler | gauge = | numberbuilt = 54,000+

The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) coach is a conventional passenger rail coach developed and manufactured by the Indian state owned Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. First manufactured in 1955, it was extensively used by the Indian Railways till the late 1990s. When the production ceased in 2018, more than 54,000 coaches had been produced including exports to other countries.

History

The coach design was developed by Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Perambur, Chennai in collaboration with the Swiss Car and Elevator Manufacturing Co. from Schlieren in Switzerland. An Indian delegation made initial contacts with the Swiss manufacturer at a railway congress in Lucerne in 1947. In the railway budget for 1949–50, the Indian government announced the intention to establish a railway coach factory in India. In 1949, a technical agreement was concluded with the Swiss based company for technical assistance and transfer of coach building technology. A basic steel shell was designed as a prototype by the Swiss company which formed the basis of the ICF coaches manufactured in the new facility. The factory rolled out the first ICF coach on 2 October 1955. The last ICF coach was flagged off on 19 January 2018. By the time the production ceased in 2018, ICF had manufactured more than 54,000 coaches.

In April 2018, the Indian Railways launched a refurbishment programme called Utkrisht (excellence) to refurbish and modernise ICF coaches in 640 rakes at a cost of . The refurbishment included a new beige and maroon paint scheme, installation of LED fixtures, bio-toilets, assistive braille signage, and improved trash disposal. Some of the ICF coaches were converted into accident relief vans and automobile carrier rakes.

Operators

The ICF coach was extensively used by the Indian Railways till the late 1990s. The ICF coaches were gradually replaced by LHB coaches designed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch of Germany. About 601 coaches were exported to countries such as Taiwan, Zambia, Tanzania, Uganda, Vietnam, Nigeria, Bangladesh, Mozambique, Angola and Sri Lanka. Philippine National Railways had 60 ICF coaches delivered between 1975 and 1979, and withdrew the last of its ICF coaches from service in 2009.

Liveries

Standard

The ICF coaches were painted with a brick red livery since their introduction in 1955. They were repainted blue in the 1990s, and in beige and red since 2018.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/ICF_Brick_Red_Livery.svg" caption="Brick Red Livery (1955–1990s)}}"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/e/e7/ICF_Blue_Livery.svg" caption="Blue Livery (1990s–2018)}}"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/a/a3/ICF_Utkrisht_Livery.svg" caption="''Utkrisht'' Livery (2018–present)}}"] ::

Select classes of trains such as Rajdhani, Shatabdi, Garib Rath and Duronto used ICF coaches with special paint schemes.

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b2/ICF_Rajdhani_Livery.svg" caption="''Rajdhani'' Livery (1969–2016)}}"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/bc/ICF_Shatabdi_Livery.svg" caption="''Shatabdi'' Livery (1988–2019)}}"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/7/7e/ICF_Garib_Rath_Livery.svg" caption="''Garib Rath'' Livery (2006–2024)}}"] ::

::figure[src="https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b9/ICF_Duronto_Livery.svg" caption="''Duronto'' Livery (2009–2020)}}"] ::

Notes

References

References

  1. (18 December 2020). "Blueprint for Increasing Speed of Trains". [[Press Information Bureau]].
  2. (2 January 2025). "Did Rajdhani trains run faster in 1973?". [[Business Standard]].
  3. (21 August 2020). "Rolling Stock requirements and their codal life". Indian Railway Institute of Mechanical & Electrical Engineering.
  4. (14 January 2022). "DNA Exclusive: Is It Time for Indian Railways to Tear Up Ageing Tracks and Old Machinery?". [[Zee Media Corporation]].
  5. "About I.C.F.". Integral Coach Factory.
  6. (7 March 2018). "54,000 coaches later, an Indian train factory is hitting reset for the high-speed age". [[Quartz (publication).
  7. "Tracing the roots". [[Integral Coach Factory]].
  8. (15 October 2014). "Integral Coach Factory strong at 60". [[Deccan Chronicle]].
  9. (12 November 2017). "Innovation aus «Schlieren» brachte tausende Arbeitsplätze in Indien". [[Aargauer Zeitung]].
  10. (20 September 2015). "ICF: A 'made in Switzerland' factory". Times of India.
  11. "Parliamentary debates, 1954". [[Government of India]].
  12. (1 September 2024). "Inside the Chennai-based Integral Coach Factory, where Vande Bharat coaches are manufactured". [[Business Line]].
  13. (10 June 2022). "Integral Coach Factory: a global success story from Chennai". [[The Hindu]].
  14. Debroy, Bibek. (9 February 2018). "A 70-Year-Old Vs a 30-Year-Old: LHB Coaches Perform Better than ICF Ones". [[Business Standard]].
  15. "Introduction of New Trains". [[Press Information Bureau]].
  16. (4 October 2018). "Project Utkrisht: Indian Railways gives mail/express trains swanky revamp". [[The Economic Times]].
  17. (20 October 2023). "Central Railway converts ageing ICF coaches into accident relief trains". The Indian Express.
  18. (April 2017). "Indian Railways Passenger Coaches: Safety Features and Technologies Adopted". International Journal of Engineering Technology Science and Research.
  19. Debroy, Bibek. (9 February 2018). "A 70-Year-Old Vs a 30-Year-Old: LHB Coaches Perform Better than ICF Ones". [[Business Standard]].
  20. "Export Performance of ICF".
  21. (12 April 2022). "The dying sight of uniform liveries on Indian trains". A Little Voice.

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