Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala

The Rail Coach Factory at Kapurthala is a coach manufacturing unit of the Indian Railways in the Indian state of Punjab. It was set up in the year 1985 with an investment of ₹423 crore (US$342 million) in order to enhance production capacity for India's railways and generate employment for the youth of the state.^[5][1] The unit is located on the Jalandhar-Firozpur railway line, and currently, has the job of manufacturing new LHB and MEMU coaches.^[4]

Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala

RCF
Company type	Indian Railways coach production unit
Industry	Rail transport
Founded	17 August 1986; 38 years ago (1986-08-17)[1]
Headquarters	Kapurthala, Punjab, India - 144602
Area served	India
Key people	Shri S.S Mishra (General Manager)[2][3]
Products	Rolling stock
Production output	1862 coaches (2021-2022) LHB: 1840 MEMU: 22
Total assets	₹2,097 crore (US$250 million) (2022)
Owner	Indian Railways
Number of employees	6624 (2022)
Website	rcf.indianrailways.gov.in
Footnotes / references [4]

History

The foundation stone for Rail Coach Factory was laid by then Prime Minister of India Rajiv Gandhi on 17 August 1985 with an initial cost of ₹423 crore (US$50 million). The objective of this project was to enhance production capacity for the Railways and generate employment for the youth of Punjab. The unit commenced production just 2 years later on 19 September 1987, and rolled out its first coach a few months later on 31 March 1988.^[1][6]

As of March 2022, it has manufactured more than 41,000 coaches of over 60 different types, which make up over 50% of the total production of coaches on Indian Railways.^[4] Some of these are:

• 'Tejas' high-speed coach (produced only by RCF Kapurthala)
• Non-AC general coach (BG/MG)
• Non-AC luggage-cum-brake van (BG/MG)
• Refrigerated parcel van (BG)
• Accident relief train (BG)

Production

Air-conditioned LHB Coach of the Mumbai Central-New Delhi Rajdhani

During FY 2021-22, Rail Coach Factory produced 1862 coaches, which was its highest ever. Out of these, 1840 were stainless steel LHB coaches, while the remaining 22 were 3-phase MEMU coaches. During this year, the unit also crossed the 40,000 mark in cumulative coach production.^[7] Up until March 2022, RCF has produced 41,014 coaches of more than 60 design variants, both AC and non-AC. This comprises more than 50% of the total stock of coaches running on Indian Railways.^[4] The factory, in association with DRDE, has also developed a highly cost-effective indigenous technology for the treatment of biowaste in coaches.^[8]

During FY 2015-16, the factory manufactured 120 LHB coaches to be exported to Bangladesh at an estimated cost of ₹367 crore (US$43 million), with the first consignment of 40 sets dispatched in March 2016.^[9][10] Before this (in 2006), the factory had already exported metre gauge coaches to Myanmar and Senegal.^[11][4][1]

See also

• Diesel Locomotive Factory, Marhowrah
• Electric Locomotive Factory, Madhepura
• Chittaranjan Locomotive Works, Asansol
• Banaras Locomotive Works, Varanasi
• Integral Coach Factory, Chennai
• Modern Coach Factory, Raebareli
• Rail Wheel Plant, Bela
• Rail Wheel Factory, Yelahanka
• Titagarh Wagons, Titagarh
• List of locomotive builders by countries

31.32827°N 75.35108°E / 31.32827; 75.35108