Indian Railways in an attempt to reduce the number of incidents of fire breaking out in railway coaches has developed a new fire-retardant coach which will help in reducing such incidents.
Indian Railways’ coach manufacturing unit, The Rail Coach Factory (RCF) Kapurthala has developed five coaches using fire-retardant materials and roof-mounted air conditioning package units with reverse cycle feature for heating arrangements besides automatic smoke detection.
With the new modifications made in the coaches it will ensure that passengers stay safe from any kind of fire accidents on trains. RCF General Manager Ravinder Gupta said that after monitoring of performance, further proliferation would be carried out in other coaches.
The automatic smoke detection system, improved materials for electrical fittings and fixtures such as MCB (Miniature Circuit Breaker), light fittings, terminal boards, connectors, etc., are now being used progressively. Fire retardant material is used in coach furnishing while fire extinguishers are now installed in rail coaches for passengers safety.
For improving fire safety in LHB Air Conditioned coaches, RCF has now started providing Roof Mounted AC Package units (RMPUs) with reverse cycle features for heating arrangement. Presently, these RMPU’s are provided with resistance-based heating coil for heating purpose which is prone to fire safety hazard in coaches. With Reverse cycle feature, no such heating element is required and the same refrigerant circuit can be used for heating inside the coach during winter season in reverse mode. This feature will not only improve efficiency but will enhance passenger safety as well. It needs mention that RCF was the first unit over Indian Railways to manufacture the first AC coach with roof mounted AC unit in 1992.
