Green signal for ICF’s ‘Train 18’

Union Finance Minister Arun Jaitley on Thursday gave the go ahead to the premier coach manufacturing unit in Chennai by announcing in the Union budget that the first such train set being manufactured at ICF in Perambur would be rolled out sometime in 2018-19. 

Train 18, which is a “Make in India” initiative and named after its year of production, would have an inbuilt wi-fi, infotainment and automatic plug-type doors. The self-propelled train would have doors opening and closing at stations on their own with the control being given to the loco pilot, an ICF official told DT Next. 

The stainless-steel exterior coaches train would enable passengers to access entertainment by connecting their smart phones and laptops to inbuilt wi-fi, sources added. Among other features, it would also have GPS-based information system to update passengers of the train location. 

Unlike the conventional locomotive hauled trains, a self-propelled “Train 18” would be powered by traction motors fitted underneath each coach, which would ensure equal distribution of power to all coaches and hence smooth acceleration and deceleration of the train.