Train 18 series part three

I had mentioned earlier that we made a matrix circa Jan/Feb 2017 We made a matrix of main features of all train sets and broke it down in three categories: 1) where we were almost there 2) where we could be there with some handholding by superior intelligence (consultancy) and 3) where we could be there with judicious selection of vendors, including import, but strictly as per our specs and drawings.

Item	Where were we? (reproduced from original)
Car body shell design and manufacture including painting	Pro: We do it all the time. Con: But not to the quality and accuracy we must have if we have the pretensions to match international std. We need a consultant to hold our hands as we design the carbody, its fixtures and tooling and processes so the same are amenable to more accuracy and better quality and supervise our team during manufacture.
Fully suspended traction motor bogie fit for 180 km/h	Neither do we have a coach bogie design on IR to run at 180 km/h test speed nor do we have a bogie to accept fully suspended motors. Period. Do we have capability to design one? Pro: We have designed bogies in the past. Con: What we have done so far is tinkering around a borrowed design. This is a different ball game; we have design a bogie from scratch, de novo. If any Design Wing on IR which can take this critical and massive work, it is ICF. We will do it but not without some hand holding again by an established  consultancy firm; once the design is done and validated through simulations, manufacture of the frame and components would be given to competent companies. It would be possible to source most of the components in India, either through ICF’s bogie shop or through trade, with very limited imports.
Modern 3-phase IGBT propulsion	On evaluating the 3-phase electrics ordered by ICF and thanks to some great R&D work by an Indian company, we are happy to find that we are almost there. It would be great that this, the most expensive part of the project, would be kept indigenous.
Train Control and Management System	As above, almost there.
Current technology PIS	As above, almost there
Smart train concepts	Capability exists in India itself. It may require some serious experimentation and iterations but we are not going abroad for this
Pleasing and ergonomically designed interiors	We are always criticized for our poor interiors! Good execution by Indian companies is possible provided we have a design suited to suit our shell design and amenable to comfortable pleasing interiors. We will hire a reputed consultant from Europe to give us better executable concepts and even indicate a panel of sources for critical items. Manufacture as per this design by some capable Indian companies was very much feasible, without losing any value.
Toilets to match the best in the world	As above
Special facilities for differently-abled passengers	As above
Brake system	We need the latest as we would not be saddled by a system which may get obsolete soon. We would define our requirement after a study of prevailing brake systems, draw up our specs and drawings and import for the first 2 train sets.
Interface with ground infrastructure/cab signalling etc.	We will do the best we can but let this not come in way of the project. The requirement, after all is not defined yet.
Minor structural assemblies	ICF will have to gear up its quality control do this in-house.
Mechanical and electrical assemblies	ICF will have to gear up its quality control do this in-house.
Cabling	ICF will have to gear up its design skills and quality control do this in-house; although we thought a small consultancy contract would be helpful but did not find a capable and interested firm in India.
Validation and performance testing in ICF before RDSO took over for oscillation, brake and other tests	ICF will have to gear up its quality control do this in-house.
Miscellaneous	To be worked out as we move along
Some major bought outs** Aircraft type seats, including rotatable ones for Ex class Plug doors with retractable steps Contactless Sliding Doors	Even with so many aircrafts flying in India, there is not a single manufacturer for such seats! Fine, so let us import as well but we will simultaneously start a process to indigenize through a competent firm No manufacturer in India;  let us import too but we will simultaneously start a process to indigenize through a competent firm As above

** I have listed only those bought outs which had to be imported. The list, actually, was much longer but we were able to identify capable and willing Indian companies for most of the items to manufacture as per our drawings and specification. In case it looked that import was inevitable, we would go back to the drawing board and try to tweak the requirement to enable sourcing in India. We had to keep the cost in control as it was imperative that the prototype gets built at 60% of the ruling international price of the same. Remember what Lord Bardolph in Shakespeare’s King Henry IV says, “When we mean to build, we first survey the plot, then draw the model; and when we see the figure of the house, then must we rate the cost of the erection; which if we find outweighs ability, what do we then but draw anew the model”.

So far so good. We had the clarity. We had to now plan actions and move quickly towards execution. Benjamin Franklin had said, very plainly, “By failing to prepare, you are preparing to fail.” We usually do prepare to fail but there was no such luxury this time. Planning at leisure was not possible and more than that, the speed of execution had to be supersonic. At this time I used a ploy; I told the team that we must turn out the prototype before the CRB retired, which was going to be in July 19. I was the boss so no one laughed at me. But disbelief was writ large all over their faces along with the question, "Has this guy gone bonkers?" Yet, I with the other key member of the team, Sri L.C.Trivedi, the then CME and now GM/ECR, the 2 IC, started to deal separately with the time line issue. It worked. Whether to get the monkey off their backs, or otherwise, our Planning and Design guys put up a plan which showed us that the prototype could be out circa June 2018.

June 2018. That’s like less than 15 months from now. Not a single contract in place. Is my team going to flung my Shakespeare at me in June 18 and leer with this quote from the Player King in Hamlet, “Our wills and fates do so contrary run that our devices still are overthrown. Our thoughts are ours, their ends none of our own”. So much for my poor ploy, then.

We shall soon see. (to be continued)