Railway Workshops
Railway Workshops
Key Information
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| 1. First Railway Workshop in India | Ajmer (1878) – established by BB&CI Railway |
| 2. Largest Railway Workshop in India | Diesel Loco Works (DLW), Varanasi |
| 3. Latest Electric Loco Assembly Unit | Electric Loco Assembly & Ancillary Unit (ELAAU), Dankuni (2021) |
| 4. Premier Coaching Workshop | Rail Coach Factory (RCF), Kapurthala (1988) |
| 5. Only Integral Coach Factory (ICF) | Chennai (1955) – technology transfer from Swizerland |
| 6. First Green-certified Workshop | Diesel Loco Modernisation Works (DLMW), Patiala (2019) |
| 7. Wheel & Axle Plant | Yelahanka (Bangalore) – supplies to all zones |
| 8. Rail Wheel Factory (RWF) | Bengaluru – 1984; exports to 15 countries |
| 9. Rail Spring Factory | Sithouli (Gwalior) – 2019 |
| 10. Dedicated EMU/MEMU workshop | Jamalpur (Eastern Railway) |
| 11. Alco Loco Overhaul Hub | Diesel Loco Works, Varanasi |
| 12. Wagon Workshop for BOXNHL | Bhilai (SECR) |
| 13. Periodic Overhaul (POH) capacity (ICF) | ~1 500 coaches/month all-India |
| 14. First PPP Workshop | Kanchrapara (W.B.) – wagon POH with Texmaco |
| 15. Newest Electric Loco Shed-cum-Workshop | Pandit Deen Dayal Upadhyaya (Mughalsarai) – 2022 |
Important Points
- Workshops are classified as “Production” (manufacture) & “Maintenance” (POH/IOH).
- All electric loco production now under “Make-in-India”; DLW renamed Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) in 2020.
- RCF Kapurthala can roll out 2 000 coaches/year; designs: LHB, AC-3Tier, Vistadome, Tejas rakes.
- ICF Chennai exported 43 rakes (Sri-Lanka, Mozambique, Bangladesh, etc.) till 2023.
- POH cycle: Freight wagons → 4.5 years; ICF coaches → 18 months; LHB coaches → 24 months.
- Jamalpur Workshop (ER) is Asia’s oldest (1862) & still overhauls steam heritage locos.
- DLMW Patiala converts diesel locos to HHP (5 500 HP) and dual-fuel CNG mode.
- Wheel & Axle plant Yelahanka produces 1 lakh wheels & 60 k axles annually.
- RWF Bengaluru makes 100 % forged wheels; 90 mm thick for 160 km/h operation.
- 100 % LED lighting & 30 % solar power achieved in all 54 railway workshops by FY 2024.
- Zonal railways have 44 periodic-overhaul workshops; 8 are ISO 9001-2015 certified.
- Dedicated “Workshop Recruitment Control Board” (RRC) holds separate exams for artisan posts.
Practice MCQs
Question:01 Which of the following is recognised as the oldest railway workshop in India?
A) Varanasi
B) Ajmer
C) Jamalpur
D) Chennai
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C
Explanation: Established in 1862, Jamalpur Workshop is the oldest railway workshop in India.
Question:02 The largest diesel locomotive manufacturing unit in India is located at
A) Patiala
B) Varanasi
C) Dankuni
D) Bhilai
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW), formerly DLW, at Varanasi is India’s largest and the world’s most prolific diesel-electric locomotive production facility.
Question:03 Rail Coach Factory (RCF) is situated in which State?
A) Punjab
B) Haryana
C) Uttar Pradesh
D) Tamil Nadu
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: The Rail Coach Factory is located at Kapurthala in the state of Punjab.
Question:04 Integral Coach Factory (ICF) technology was originally from
A) Germany
B) Switzerland
C) Japan
D) France
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: The Integral Coach Factory (ICF) technology was originally sourced from Switzerland.
Question:05 Which of the following is exclusively a wheel manufacturing unit?
A) Sithouli
B) Yelahanka
C) Dankuni
D) Kanchrapara
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: Yelahanka (Bangalore) is the only dedicated wheel manufacturing plant among the options, producing forged wheels for Indian Railways.
Question:06 What is the prescribed Periodic Overhaul (POH) interval for LHB coaches?
A) 12 months
B) 18 months
C) 24 months
D) 30 months
Show Answer
Correct Answer: C
Explanation: As per 2026 Indian Railway maintenance norms, LHB coaches are scheduled for POH every 24 months to ensure safety and reliability.
Question:07 Which of the following railway workshops became India’s first to receive the GreenCo Gold rating for environmental excellence?
A) DLMW Patiala
B) ICF Chennai
C) RWF Bengaluru
D) Wagon Repair Shop Raipur
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: Diesel Loco Modernisation Works (DLMW) in Patiala was certified as the first GreenCo Gold-rated railway workshop by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) for its outstanding energy efficiency, renewable-energy use, water conservation and waste-management practices.
Question:08 Which of the Indian Railways’ workshops is entrusted with the periodic overhaul of both steam and electric locomotives?
A) Ajmer
B) Jamalpur
C) Bhopal
D) Golden Rock
Show Answer
Correct Answer: B
Explanation: Jamalpur Workshop, established in 1862, is the only facility on Indian Railways that carries out periodic overhaul (POH) of both steam and electric locomotives, making it unique among the given options.
Question:09 Where was the Rail Spring Factory commissioned in 2019?
A) Gwalior
B) Jhansi
C) Itarsi
D) Kota
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: The Rail Spring Factory was commissioned in 2019 at Gwalior (Sithouli).
Question:10 Which of the following Indian Railways workshops operates under a Public-Private Partnership (PPP) model?
A) Kanchrapara
B) Bilaspur
C) Hubli
D) Vijayawada
Show Answer
Correct Answer: A
Explanation: Kanchrapara Workshop (under ER) runs a PPP for Wagon POH in collaboration with Texmaco Rail & Engineering Ltd.
BETA
