Train-18

CHENNAI: The Railway Board on Tuesday transferred a top official, who was part of the core team instrumental in rolling out Train-18 (later rechristened Vande Bharat Express) from the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) here.

Shubhranshu, Chief Mechanical Engineer (CME) of the ICF, has been moved out after less than one year in the post. He has been replaced by A K Kathpal, CME of Southern Railway. Kathpal took charge of the ICF the same day, a source added. A copy of the transfer order is with TOI.

Shubhranshu declined to comment on the move and despite repeated attempts, Railway Board member (rolling stock) Rajesh Agarwal could not be reached.

The move comes days after the Railway Board decided that the manufacture of Train-18 would be shifted to Modern Coach Factory (MCF) at Rae Bareilly in Uttar Pradesh . Sources said the board had recently instructed the ICF to hand over drawings of innovative new coaches for Train-18, under-slungcoaches for EMU and the new design of Kolkata Metro coaches. "The ICF agreed to give only the drawings of the under-slung MEMUs," a top source said.

Meanwhile, authoritative sources told TOI that the transfer process of another core member of Train-18's design team, chief design engineer-mechanical Srinivas is under way. He is likely to be posted to the Research Design and Standards Organisation, Lucknow. The next person to be shunted out is likely to be the chief engineer of ICF's shell and furnishing workshop, who was also a Train-18 core team member, top railway sources said.

Train-18, India's first locomotive-less train, was manufactured in a record 18 months by ICF. It is now operated as the Vande Bharat Express on the New Delhi-Varanasi route.

ICF received approval to manufacture 10 more T-18 rakes, but the Railway Board also discussed plans to make the coaches in other manufacturing units. ICF officials have resisted the immediate shift, as they feel the Chennai-based unit would be able to execute the project better, sources added.

