Indian Railways is set to complete the conversion of all Indian Carriage Factory (ICF) coaches to Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches by FY28, according to latest reports from Business Standard. The conversion programme has achieved significant progress, with more than 1,600 rakes converted since the initiative began. An estimated 170-180 rakes will be converted in the remainder of FY26-27 and the upcoming FY28, with each rake typically containing 24 coaches. Roughly 340-350 rakes remain to be converted out of around 2,000 rakes, as reported by officials familiar with the matter. The government will continue using some ICF rakes for additional passenger services including special trains, trains on demand, and departmental services.
India's journey with LHB coaches began in 1996 after the national transporter signed a technology transfer agreement and began importing these coaches, with manufacturing capabilities developed in-house. In 2018, India stopped producing ICF coaches and shifted entirely to LHB coaches for passenger trains, citing safety reasons following a spate of accidents where ICF coaches' performance came under scrutiny. ICF coaches often faced the issue of 'telescoping' during collisions, in which coaches would pile into and crush each other, increasing damage scale and risk to life. Since 2021, Railways has converted around 950 rakes as part of the rapid conversion programme, with officials confirming this figure to Business Standard.
After completing the conversion of all ICF coaches to LHB, Railways will no longer manufacture loose LHB coaches and production of mail and express trains will move to the Amrit Bharat platform of push-pull trains, as reported by Business Standard. These push-pull trains feature LHB coaches in a safer and more efficient configuration, with semi-permanent, semi-rigid draft couplers that are considered safer for train operations, especially at higher speeds. A push-pull train was first introduced in 2019, with the concept now mainstreamed through Amrit Bharat trains that run in dual-locomotive push-pull configuration, eliminating starting jerks and improving overall acceleration.
The Railway Board will issue guidelines for the expedited scrapping of corroded ICF and hybrid coaches, while Railways continues dealing with heavy corrosion issues in both LHB and ICF coaches, according to Business Standard reports. Additionally, Railways has directed all production units to manufacture LHB coaches with push-pull wiring going forward, ensuring continuity in the safer technology adoption across the network. The ministry did not provide an official response to emailed queries regarding the conversion programme details.
