Urban Transport Infrastructure November 2018 Urban Transport Infra November 2018

Interview entire train is available for amenities/movement of passengers. There are no locomotives or power cars like any Shatabdi or Rajdhani trains. With specially designed undercarriage for 160 km/h speed operation and multi-featured couplings, the train meets a higher safety standard. It is much more energy-efficient, more maintenance- friendly with lower life cycle cost. How did the idea of Train 18 come about? Mr. Mani: When I joined ICF in 2016, I was pleasantly surprised to find that I had to lead a very capable team, a team comprising of proficient designers, engineers, supervisors and technicians and so on. And more than their capability, I sensed a certain chutzpah in them. It was now left to me to remove any doubts that they had about their potential and chanelize this energy to do something positively audacious. As Lucio in Shakespeare’s Measure for Measure says, “Our doubts are traitors and make us lose the good we oft might win by fearing to attempt” or as Iqbal said, “Girte hain shahsawar hi maidaane jung mein, wo tifl kya gire jo ghutno ke bal chale”, I told them that the days of their doubts were over. We were going to design and manufacture the best train ever made in India, matching world standard. I was aware that Indian Railways had been dilly dallying in respect of train sets for decades and it was now or never. Train sets were the norm in all developed railways systems and India could not afford to be a laggard any more. And we were going to do it WWW.URBANTRANSPORTNEWS.COM ourselves and not through crutches of any foreign company. True Make in India with a clear stamp of ICF. I told them come, let us make history. on a par with flights. The plush interiors and compact toilets are world- class with touch-free fittings and vacuum system in aircraft. And all of this was built completely in India What is the percentage of indigenous within 18 months; to build a similar components in Train 18? Will this go train set, Train-20, foreign companies up as more train sets are like Stradler, Siemens and Bombardier manufactured? take three to four years. Mr. Mani: Most of the major equipment like, car body, propulsion What was the inspiration for the Train- 18 idea? Mr. Mani: For any developed rail network train sets is the natural step forward, as they cut down on travel time, are easy to turn-around at stations and have hassle-free maintenance. In India, this idea was debated for 20 years and became a victim of departmentalism in Indian Railways. But the more it is delayed, the more India will be left behind. I was determined to implement it and I realized that ICF was the right place to manufacture it as the staff and officers have the talent and enthusiasm and so went ahead with it. system, interior furnishing items, bogies etc. are made in India. Import content is mainly in brake system, automatic doors, seats and air springs. In near future, some of these items will also be made in India and in the long term the import content would be reduced even more drastically. What upgradation can be expected for future rakes? Mr. Mani: The exteriors and interiors are not yet of European standard. I’m not fully satisfied. The exterior should be as smooth as an automobile. These will be upgraded in future models. ICF has staff strength of 10,400, but a lot of work is outsourced to private firms. Is the government employee unable to deliver as well as the private agency? Mr. Mani: There is no such shortcomings in the work of the government employee. Our plan is to not have a large workforce, but a competent and committed one. The staff strength is being reduced while production is going up. As far as outsourcing is concerned, it is equipment supply, installation and commissioning. We don’t want to get into a dispute between the supplier and ICF. ICF is also doing a lot of work in- house, for instance the Train-18 shell is made entirely by the staff. How many more such Train 18 sets will ICF manufacture and are train sets like these the future of rail travel in India? Mr. Mani: Six train sets are sanctioned with the second one planned for a February turn out. Four more will be turned out in 2019- 20 and we expect to make many many more in future. Train sets should replace all premium long distance locomotive-hauled trains like Shatabdis and Rajdhani trains. But then let’s wait for the tests and trials by RDSO to be over after which a *** call would be taken on the subject by our Railway Board. What is unique about the Train-18 experience? Mr. Mani: Indians will soon get to travel in a train which has facilities 44 #Interview Credit: Ms. Smriti Jain & Siddharth Prabhakar Urban Transport Infrastructure | November 2018

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