Siemens India to make 1,200 horsepower electric locomotives for railways

Siemens India will manufacture 1,200 electric freight locomotives of 9,000 HP each for the railways, according to the terms of a contract valued at Rs 26,000 crore, the national transporter said on Saturday.

The Indian Railways has issued a letter of award (LoA) for the manufacturing and maintenance of the 9,000-HP electric freight locomotives to Siemens India.

"Railways factory at Dahod, Gujarat will manufacture 1,200 high horsepower (9,000 HP) electric locomotives over a period of 11 years. It would entail manufacturing of 1,200 locomotives and maintenance of these locomotives for 35 years. The estimated value of contract is about INR 26,000 crore (about 3.2 billion USD), excluding taxes and price variation," the railways said in a statement.

An agreement with Siemens India will be signed within 30 days of the issuance of the LoA. The prototype locomotives are to be delivered in the next two years.

The Dahod unit will be fully constructed for manufacturing these locomotives within a period of two years. Siemens, selected as the technological partner, will manufacture the locomotives at Dahod and maintain those at four maintenance depots -- Visakhapatnam, Raipur, Kharagpur and Pune -- for a period of 35 years, utilising the railways' manpower.

"Suitable economic drivers will ensure complete indigenisation of the manufacturing, which in turn will lead to development of ancillary manufacturing units, making it a true 'Make in India' initiative. The project will also lead to development of the Dahod region and generate employment," the railways said.

These 9,000-HP locomotives will be the future workhorse for freight operation on the Indian Railways. These locomotives are planned for use primarily on the Western DFC and on graded sections of the railways for hauling container freight trains in double-stack configuration and improve the average speed of such trains to around 50-60 kilometres per hour over the existing 20-25 kmph.

The quantum jump in the operating parameters will lead to an increase in the throughput and also enhance line capacity. These locomotives, equipped with state-of-the-art IGBT-based propulsion technology, will provide savings in energy consumption due to regenerative braking technology.

There is a provision to manufacture and supply standard gauge locomotives for the export market.

Siemens India was selected as the technology partner through a fair, transparent and competitive bidding process to manufacture and maintain these locomotives, the railways said.