December 9, 2020: Indian Railways has recently got the 12000HP 50th 12WAGB electric locomotive from Alstom.
The locomotives will be used for hauling freight trains can run at a top speed of 120kmph and to be deployed on all the major routes and Dedicated Freight Corridors(DFCs) of Indian Railways. The locomotive will be used for the faster movement of goods, especially coal and iron ore.
Alain Spohr, Managing Director, Alstom India & South Asia said,“We are proud to have successfully manufactured and delivered 50 e-locos of 12,000 HP to Indian Railways so far, in spite of the global pandemic. These are the only freight e-Locos approved by Indian Railways to run at a speed of 120 KMPH. The locos that have been inducted by Indian Railways have already covered close to 2 million kilometers till date.
Planned to be deployed for operations on major freight routes, including the Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs), these electric locos are capable of hauling ~6000 tonnes at a top speed of 120 kmph. Built as part of the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) project in the Railway sector, these 800 fully electric super powered double-section locomotives will transform the heavy freight transportation landscape of India.
These 800 e-locos are being manufactured at India’s largest integrated greenfield manufacturing facility in Madhepura, Bihar. This project has created over 10,000 jobs, primarily in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. This joint venture by Ministry of Railways (Indian Railways) and Alstom is one of the strongest realizations of Make-in-India vision with a strong impetus on indigenous manufacturing with over 87% localization. The JV combines innovation with responsibility and together we are committed to deliver safe, reliable and efficient solutions. We are excited to be part of this revolutionary journey of Indian Railways.”
In line with the Make-in-India mandate, all the 800 Prima locomotives are being manufactured locally. Designed at Alstom’s Engineering Centre in Bengaluru, the Prima T8 WAG-12 are being built at Madhepura in Bihar.
Spread across 250 acres, with a production capacity of 120 locomotives per year, the Madhepura site is built to international standards of safety and quality. Two ultra-modern maintenance depots in Saharanpur and Nagpur will ensure the high service availability of the locomotives. The latest features, these depots will play a critical role in maintaining India’s most advanced freight locomotives at significantly lower costs.
Source: mint
