The Modern Coach Factory (MCF) intends to ramp up its production capacity from 1,000 coaches per year to 2,000 coaches. For this the company has proposed to infuse Rs 480 crore for the expansion. MCF is a rail coach manufacturing unit of the Indian Railways at Lalganj near Raebareli in Uttar Pradesh.

The plan which is currently awaiting sanction of the Railway Board is expected to reach the target of 2,000 coaches per year by 2020-2021. Once MCF gets approval for the plan, it will have more coaches and will be able to replace the old coaches with the new ones. MCF has increased production exponentially to 368 coaches in first four months of 2018-19.

From January 2018 to March 2018, MCF manufactured 229 coaches to surpass the target of 2017-18 with total production of the year as 711 against target of 710. The factory is also set to launch its Make in India smart coaches with new features like black box and artificial intelligence (AI)-powered CCTVs, matching international standards.

The Smart Trains will be equipped with sensors that can detect defects on bearings, wheels, and the railway track, giving constant inputs to those in the control room to avoid accidents, carry out maintenance, and improve efficiency of operations. The maiden smart coach was unveiled in September 2018. It was the part of launching 100 such trains in a pilot project to improve safety and security of commuters, and to boost efficiency.

The project is expected to roll out in December 2018 with five such rakes. The blueprints have already been prepared to increase production to 3,000 coaches in coming years.