Indian Railways to Get 10 New 12,000 HP ‘Make in India’ Electric Locomotives This Fiscal

Indian Railways bets on 12,000 HP electric locomotives! As part of one of the biggest ‘Make in India’ FDI deals in the sector, Indian Railways is all set to get 10 new electric locomotives in the financial year 2019-2020. The 12,000 HP electric locomotives are part of a 3.5 billion euros agreement with French firm Alstom. With the new eco-friendly electric locomotives hopes to ensure faster movement of trains with greater hauling capacity.

These modern, world-class electric locomotives are likely to transform the operational and infrastructural strength of the Indian Railways network. Some of the important features of these ‘Make in India’ electric locomotives are:

• The electric locomotives will boast of 12,000 horsepower (HP) and will be able to haul 6000 tonnes.
• They will be constructed as twin bo-bo design locomotives with 22.5 tonnes of axle load upgradeable to 25 tonnes.
• The locomotives will have a design speed of 120 kmph.
• These electric locomotives will prove to be a game-changer for the movement of coal loaded trains operating on the Indian Railways’ dedicated freight corridors (DFC).
• They will be utilized for hauling heavier freight trains such as coal and iron ore for faster and safer movement.

Additionally, this is the very first-time such locomotives of such high horsepower are being tested on the broad gauge network across the world by any railway network.

In a joint venture with Indian Railways, Alstom is manufacturing as many as 800 electric locomotives for freight operations at its plant in Bihar’s Madhepura. The locomotives manufacturing deal is the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) project of Indian Railways sealed in 2015 with an aim to transform the heavy freight transportation landscape across the rail network.

According to a press release issued by the Railway Ministry, Alstom delivered a prototype locomotive in the month of March 2018. Based on the tests and its results, Alstom has changed the locomotive design, including the bogies. The new design of the electric locomotive has been inspected by the Research Design and Standards Organisation (RDSO) at the Madhepura factory and has been cleared for dispatch from the factory. With the clearance, Alstom is now aiming to accelerate the delivery schedule process and will supply 10 electric locomotives in the financial year 2019-2020. Further, it will work on supplying as many as 90 locomotives in the financial year 2020-2021 and 100 more locomotives per year after the month of March 2021.

Source: FE