The facility will produce railway coach sub-assemblies like side-wall, roof arch, trough floor and retention tanks for ICF, Chennai. These components will be used in LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) model coaches and other variants. The proximity of this unit to ICF Chennai will ensure just-in-time deliveries for Indian Railways, and low inventory costs will help in improved cost efficiency, an official statement said. Earlier, these components were supplied to Indian Railways from the Jindal Stainless’ Pathredi unit in Haryana.
Inaugurating the facility in presence of senior railway officials, JSL Lifestyle managing director, Deepika Jindal said: “Jindal Stainless’ relationship with the Indian Railways is almost two decades old. We have further strengthened it by setting-up our facility in Chennai, and expect to conquer several new milestones in this journey. Currently, we have begun our operations with around 4,800 tonnes of fabrication annually and will ramp it up to 7,200 tonnes in a couple of years.”
The company is expecting initial revenue of nearly Rs 100 crore annually from this facility. Revenue is expected to touch nearly Rs 300 crore annually once the enhanced capacity reaches 7,200 tonnes. Incidentally, Jindal Stainless was a major supplier of stainless steel for the coach body of the recently launched Vande Bharat Express, India’s fastest train, was manufactured at ICF Chennai facility.
Over the next 4-5 years, Railways plans to produce around 10,000 stainless steel coaches annually. These coaches not only enhance safety due to high impact resistance, but are also fire and corrosion resistant, thereby drastically reducing casualties in cases of accident/ collision. The stainless steel material produced by Jindal Stainless for railway coaches is already tested and approved by Research Designs & Standards Organisation (RDSO).
