LHB coach
| Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) coach | |
|---|---|
A typical air-conditioned LHB coach used by Mumbai — Amritsar Golden Temple Mail. | |
| In service | 2000–present |
| Manufacturer | Indian Railways |
| Designer | Linke-Hofmann-Busch |
| Built at | |
| Replaced | ICF coach |
| Constructed | 1998–present |
| Entered service | 2000 |
| Operators | Indian Railways Bangladesh Railway Mozambique Ports and Railways |
| Specifications | |
| Car body construction | 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 pivot hinge Automatic sliding single leaf plug (Tejas Express) |
| Wheel diameter | 855–915 mm (33.66–36.02 in) |
| Wheelbase | 14.9 m (48 ft 10+5⁄8 in) bogie centres |
| Maximum speed | 130 km/h (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 | 89,999 kJ (85,303 BTU) x 2 RMPUs 129,600 kJ (122,837 BTU) x 2 RMPUs (Double decker) |
| AAR wheel arrangement | 2'2' |
| Bogies | FIAT Bogies |
| Minimum turning radius | 175 m (574 ft) |
| Braking systems | 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 |
Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) coach is a passenger rail coach developed by Linke-Hofmann-Busch for Indian Railways. Initially, 24 air-conditioned coaches were imported from Germany for use in the Shatabdi Express following which the coaches were manufactured in India. The coaches are manufactured by three state-owned rail coach manufacturing units at Chennai, Kapurthala, and Raebareli.
In the late 1990s, the Indian Railways started replacing the ICF coaches with LHB coaches. It was initially introduced on select express trains running on the 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) broad gauge network of the Indian Railways. The manufacturing of ICF coaches ceased in 19 January 2018, and subsequently LHB coaches were used for most of the passenger and express trains. As of October 2025, 75% of all non Multiple Unit express trains of the Indian Railways were running with LHB coaches.