K-Lite is illuminating Indian metros and railways
Indian Railways is the fourth-largest railway network worldwide, with a total track length of 1,09,748 km, spanning 69,181 km and serving 6,905 million passengers as of 2022–2023. Increasing urbanisation and rising income (both urban and rural) are driving growth in the passenger segment. India is projected to account for 40 per cent of the total global share of rail activity by 2050.
Rail infrastructure is expected to see an investment of 50 lakh crores by 2030. Following 2014, a conscious effort was made to improve the railway sector by substantially increasing capital expenditure, according to the Statistical Survey of Indian Railways 2023–2024. The capex outlay for 2023–2024, at ₹7,47,592 crore, goes to prove the exponential growth. As more projects are taken on board and several sources of capital funding are developed, capex will increase further in the coming years, and the railway system will emerge as an engine of national growth.
Indians are witnessing the speed at which the growth is taking place. Upgradation and modernisation of existing railway junctions, introduction of new railway corridors, and the introduction of several new trains, including the Vande Bharat Express, Amrit Bharat Express, and Shatabdi, with state-of-the-art coaches, are standing proofs. Similarly, as cities grow, the development of metros becomes imminent for last-mile connectivity. Capping all other achievements, Indian Railways has now extended the rail link to Kashmir after the construction of the world’s highest Chenab Railway Bridge and the introduction of a specially made Vande Bharat express.
In this context, K-Lite Industries, a leading manufacturer of LED luminaires under the brand name K-Lite, would like to take pride in its more than 40-year association with ICF to supply LED lights to all coaches. We are an approved vendor for ICF. Coach lighting with LED technology, conforming to RDSO specifications, was first developed by us for the Kolkata Metro, which has now become the approved benchmark. All metro trains will have K-Lite saloon lights. It is a matter of pride for us. For Delhi Metro, K-Lite was chosen in place of a Korean luminaire to supply K-Lite saloon lights under indigenous replacement. Even for Chennai Metro, the imported coach lighting are now being retrofitted with LED fixtures by K-Lite.
In addition to ICF, we have been associated with rolling stock manufacturers such as BEML, Medha Servo, San Engineering, Titagarh Wagon, and Jessoph for decades. M/s Alstom, Germany, which has established manufacturing plants in India for train coaches, have tied up with us on a long-term contract for the supply of their LED coach light requirement conforming to international standards, and the supply is already on.
Luminaires supplied
K-Lite has supplied luminaires to Delhi Metro, Bangalore Metro, Jaipur Metro, Kolkata Metro, and Chennai Metro. K-Lite has also partnered with and supplied luminaires to various projects, including ALSTOM e-loco, Sri Lankan DEMU and Mainline Coaches, Konkan Railway, LRACC, GM coach, Garib Rath coaches, SPIC coaches, IRCTC JK coaches, and Ministry of Railways special coaches.
K-Lite’s R&D and quality policy
Innovation is an essential cornerstone of K-Lite. Our robust R&D has enabled us to introduce innovative solutions to the lighting industry. Our dedicated in-house team of skilled engineers and designers have helped us innovate and excel. We have full-fledged testing facilities equipped with state-of-the-art testing and validation equipment at our NABL-accredited Optic Laboratory. We have also erected a live railway coach to showcase and prove the illumination levels and aesthetics of our railway luminaires using real-time simulation.
For more details, visit: https://www.klite.in/