The Rail Coach Factory, Kapurthala rolled out its first rake of 19 LHB broad gauge coaches for Bangladesh Railway on August 12, 2026.
The rake is part of a 2024 export contract for 200 broad gauge coaches in seven variants, executed through RITES Ltd.
The coaches operate at 415 V, unlike the 750 V systems used in Indian Railways passenger coaches.
The car body shell is crashworthy and complies with European Standard EN 15227.
RCF Kapurthala had earlier supplied 120 LHB coaches to Bangladesh in 2015-16.
LHB coaches are a broad gauge passenger coach design of German origin, manufactured in India at RCF Kapurthala. They are associated with better ride quality, higher speed potential and stainless steel or aluminium-based construction, and have progressively replaced older conventional coaches on Indian Railways. Their safety advantage lies in the design: an anti-climbing feature keeps coaches from riding over one another in a collision, which is the mechanism behind the worst casualties in rail accidents. The Bangladesh order adds a crashworthy car body shell certified to EN 15227, the European standard for rolling stock crashworthiness.
Simple Analogy: The difference between a car with a crumple zone and one without — same journey, very different outcome in an impact.
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Linke Hofmann Busch — a broad gauge passenger coach design of German origin, built in India at RCF Kapurthala.
A public sector enterprise under the Ministry of Railways working in transport consultancy, engineering and railway exports.
The European standard governing crashworthiness requirements for railway rolling stock.
A coach carrying the generating equipment that supplies electricity to the rest of the rake.