INTRO: Alstom LHB GmbH is supplying 24 lightweight coaches to Indian Railways. They will act as prototypes for local production under a technology transfer deal that includes staff training and technical assistance
BYLINE: Dr-Ing Alfred Henning
Director, Passenger Coach Group, Alstom LHB GmbH
AT THE END of this year Alstom LHB GmbH of Germany will deliver the first of 24 prototype 1676mm gauge coaches to Indian Railways. IR will immediately begin running trials with the vehicles.
IR had been looking to develop a new standard design for some time for manufacture at its Rail Coach Factory in Kapurthala, and later at other plants including the Integral Coach Factory in Chennai. At the end of 1995, IR selected Alstom LHB as its development partner for the next generation of passenger rolling stock.
IR subsequently awarded two contracts: one for supply of prototype vehicles and the other for technology transfer. As they are closely linked, the two contracts have been treated as a single project. The contract for supply of the all-steel lightweight vehicles for IR’s 1676mm network covers 19 air-conditioned second class coaches, two air-conditioned executive class cars and three generator/brake vans.
Designed to meet specifications for operation on IR’s track in a hot climate at up to 160 km/h, the coaches ride on bogies supplied by Fiat-SIG based on the Eurofima design.
Alstom is building the 24 prototype vehicles to test the design and manufacturing techniques it has developed to meet IR’s requirements. Currently producing some 1000 vehicles a year to an earlier standard design, IR’s Rail Coach Factory was set up in the early 1990s and has ISO9001 certification.
The technology transfer agreement grants IR the non-exclusive right to manufacture in its factories the coaches designed by Alstom, and their Fiat-SIG bogies. The contract includes training of IR personnel at Alstom and Fiat in design and manufacture, as well as technical assistance to RCF at the start of manufacture. This will entail updating current manufacturing technology and equipment to suit the new design.
Design for local manufacture
Both the design and manufacturing process have been developed with local conditions and requirements firmly in mind. Technology transfer agreements of this type are only guaranteed long-term success if materials and components for series production do not have to be imported by the country receiving the technology. Similarly, it must be possible for the manufacturing process to be easily assimilated and implemented by the local workforce.
The agreement covers systems and components bought in from other suppliers including air-conditioning, brakes and seats. For series production, these components must also be sourced locally. This has required co-operation from the European companies that have supplied components for the Salzgitter-built prototypes, and Alstom will assist IR in developing the capability of domestic suppliers for series production.
The bodyshell design has been developed to avoid corrosion in the finished vehicles, with three types of steel currently produced in India. For the trough floor and roof, most prone to corrosion, X5CrNi1810 austenitic stainless steel will be used. Side walls, end walls and the body frame will be made of X2Cr11 ferritic stainless steel, with low-alloy high-tensile steel meeting Indian Railway Standard IRSM-R41 used for other structural members such as the underframe.
A new manufacturing technique has been adopted for the side walls. The frame consists of folded steel profiles that are partly cut so that two profiles can be put together and interlocked using mechanical fixtures. Before side panels are attached by spot welding, the profiles are fixed locally by tack welding to keep them in the correct position.
Steel is bought mainly in sheets which are joined by laser cutting and welding. To avoid corrosion, all steel parts are shotblast before welding, as is the finished bodyshell before painting with polyurethane-based paint.
For interior ceiling and side wall panels, as well as the toilet compartments, glass-reinforced plastic will be used. All the cars will have roof-mounted air-conditioning packs able to maintain a temperature of between 17í and 26°C inside the cars.
TABLE: Principal suppliers
Reader Enquiry Numbers:
Main contractor: Alstom LHB 111
Bogies: Fiat-SIG 112
Air-conditioning: Hagenuk-Faiveley 113
Electrical equipment: Schaltbau 114
Brakes: Knorr Bremse 115
Seats: Franz Kiel 116
Doors: TechnoDevice 117
CAPTION: First of the 24 bodyshells has been completed in Alstom LHB’s Salzgitter factory
CAPTION: Fig 1. Most of the 2+3 seating in the second class air-conditioned cars is arranged in a face-to-back layout
