South Western Railway has begun trial runs of the state-of-the-art bogies and is waiting for safety clearance to start commercial runs,Travelling on the Bangalore-New Delhi Rajdhani Express is about to become better for Bangaloreans with the South Western Railway (SWR) all set to introduce state-of-the-art Linke Holfmann Bush (LHB) coaches. The LHB coaches are built using German design technology. SWR has already acquired 18-20 these coaches and has begun trial runs. It is awaiting clearance from the railway safety commissioner for commercial runs.SWR divisional railway manager S Mani said, “After sorting out some technical issues we will announce a date for the commercial run of LHB coaches.”LHB coaches are manufactured with low-cost stainless steel. They are fitted with eco-friendly and energy-efficient LED lights. Curtains and other fittings inside AC coaches are fire-resistant.LHB rakes can hit a maximum speed of 160 kmph but officials plan to run them at speeds around 140 kmph.
A senior railway official said, “The interiors of these coaches look good. No screws are visible on the side-wall panels. They also come with an improved air duct design for better air flow and cooling. Windows are bigger to facilitate good visibility and come along with functional roller blinds.
They also have sound insulation to reduce noise.” Toilets are also designed to discharge waste at predetermined speeds to help maintain cleanliness in railway stations. The coaches have glued PVC floors, which prevent floor damage through water seepage.
Swati Pandey, a student in a city college, said, “We always envied the Thiruvanantha-puram Rajdhani train which has German coaches. With SWR now getting these coaches for Bangalore Rajdhani, we are looking forward to travelling to the national capital.”
Senior divisional mechanical engineer P Shrinivas said, “The design for these variant coaches, including layout, manufacturing drawings and specifications are done by rail coach factory, Kapurthala.”
