LHB coach
Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coach is a passenger coach of Indian Railways that is developed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch of Germany and produced by rail coach manufacturing units at Kapurthala, Chennai and Raebareli. They have been used since 2000 on the 5 ft 6 in (1,676 mm) broad gauge network of Indian railways. Initially, 24 air conditioned coaches were imported from Germany for use in the Shatabdi Expresses, following which, the Rail Coach Factory started manufacturing after technology transfer. IR declared that all ICF coaches will be replaced by LHB coaches to provide more safety and comfort. The last ICF Coach was flagged off on 19 January 2018, making way for LHB Coaches to be used for all new coaches to be introduced by Indian Railways in the future.
| Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coach | |
|---|---|
LHB coaches of Lucknow Mail at New Delhi. | |
| In service | 2000–present |
| Manufacturer | Linke-Hofmann-Busch |
| Designer | Linke-Hofmann-Busch, Salzgitter |
| Built at | 1. Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala 2. Integral Coach Factory, Chennai 3. Modern Coach Factory, Raebareli |
| Replaced | ICF coach |
| Constructed | 1998–present |
| Entered service | 2000 |
| Successor | VBE trainsets |
| Operators | Indian Railways Bangladesh Railway Mozambique Ports and Railways |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | Spotwelded Stainless Steel |
| Car length | 23.54 m (77 ft 2+3⁄4 in) (body) 24 m (78 ft 8+7⁄8 in) (coupler-coupler) |
| Width | 3.24 m (10 ft 7+1⁄2 in) 3.05 m (10 ft 1⁄8 in) (Double decker) |
| Height | 4.039 m (13 ft 3 in) 4.25 m (13 ft 11+3⁄8 in) (AC 3 Tier & Vistadome) |
| Floor height | 1,320 mm (4 ft 4 in) |
| Platform height | 840 mm (2 ft 9+1⁄8 in) |
| Doors | Manual/ Automatic Pivot Hinge Doors Automatic Sliding Single Leaf Plug Doors (Tejas Express) |
| Wheel diameter | 855–915 mm (33.66–36.02 in) |
| Wheelbase | 14.9 m (48 ft 10+5⁄8 in) bogie centers |
| Maximum speed | 130 kilometres per hour (81 mph) (Non-AC coach) 160 km/h (99 mph) (AC coach) 200 km/h (124 mph) (potential max speed) |
| Weight | 39.5 t (38.9 long tons; 43.5 short tons) (average) |
| HVAC | 85,303 BTU (89,999 kJ) x 2 RMPUs 122,837 BTU (129,600 kJ) x 2 RMPUs (Double decker) |
| AAR wheel arrangement | 2'2' |
| Bogies | FIAT Bogies |
| Minimum turning radius | 175 m |
| Braking system(s) | Railway air brake Electro-pneumatic brake (Only in 200 km/h (120 mph) fit Tejas Express coach) Axle mounted Railway disc brake |
| Coupling system | AAR Type-H Tightlock coupling Semi-Permanent Coupler (Only in Amrit Bharat trainsets) |
| Track gauge | 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) Broad gauge 1,067 mm (3 ft 6 in) Cape gauge |