Indian Railways Has Successfully Tested the First Battery-Operated Navdoot Engine

Test Trial of Train with Battery Engine Successful

Taking another step towards clean fuel, Indian Railways has successfully tested the first battery-operated Navdoot Engine. This engine has been built in the Jabalpur division of the railway and is named ‘Navdoot’. It works in dual mode.

Rail News: Railways are increasingly making engines using indigenous technology. The Jabalpur Railway Division of West Central Railway has prepared a Navdoot engine which is neither powered by diesel nor by electricity. It will be operated by battery. The engineer of the electric loco has developed this modern engine shed at Katni, MP. The battery engine has received recognition all over the world after its successful trial.

Modern High Voltage Batteries in the Navdoot Locomotive

On Tuesday, the Navdoot engine reached Jabalpur railway station. GMR Shailendra Singh, ADM Shobhan Chaudhuri and DRM Sanjay Vishwas tested the engine and explored this technology. The battery-powered rail engine will be used at stations where there is no electrical line. It will be used mainly during shunting where it will be used to move the train rack from one place to another. Primarily it can be used within a radius of 10 km.

The loco shed engineer has installed modern high voltage batteries in the electric locomotive. It will be easier to use, even if the power line suddenly turns off.

Specifications of the “Navdoot” Engine

The VAG 12B locomotive engine Navdoot is of 1200 horsepower. It weighs 180 tons and has a length of 35 meters. This maximum speed is 100 kilometres per hour, which can be increased to 120 kilometres per hour. The loco cab is entirely AC.

Piyush Goyal Tweeted This Information

This engine works in dual mode. Railway Minister Piyush Goyal tweeted a video informing that the test of the ‘Navdoot’ was successful. He wrote that this battery-powered loco is a sign of a bright future, which will be a significant step forward in saving foreign exchange as well as environmental protection.

‘Navdoot’ is the first engine produced in the Jabalpur division. However, an engineer from Kota division of East Central Railway has also prepared one such engine. Now slowly the railway is moving from electric locomotive to battery engine. Railway engineers are also working to create an engine that can carry heavyweight and operate with a battery.


Source: UNI India

Image Courtesy:Railmitra