Rites to export in-service diesel locomotives to South Africa: CMD Mithal

RITES Limited, a firm under the Ministry of Railways, for the first time will export in-service diesel locomotives to South Africa from the end of this fiscal year, the company's chairman and managing director, Rahul Mithal, said.

Since Indian Railways is almost fully electrified, it is exploring opportunities to export its in-service diesel locomotives, having over 15 years of functional life remaining, he said.

RITES has secured orders to export 18 in-service locomotives to South Africa after suitable modifications to suit the country's operational requirements, he said.

While RITES has been exporting new locomotives, this is the first time the company has secured an order for the export of in-service locomotives, he added.

South Africa follows the Cape Gauge system, where the distance between the tracks is 1,067 mm, whereas India's rail system operates on the Broad Gauge system with a track width of 1,676 mm.

"We will deliver the first modified in-service diesel locomotive by Q4FY26, and with our promising products and services, we hope to secure more such orders from South Africa's neighbouring countries," Mithal told PTI.

He added that while RITES has been exporting new locomotives, this is the first time the company has secured an order for the export of in-service locomotives.

Indian Railways has over 500 diesel locomotives that can potentially be exported, Mithal said, adding that RITES believes that the first export order delivery could open new markets abroad.

Besides, RITES has been awarded the task of designing and making operational passenger holding areas at 76 major stations across the country, in collaboration with the Railway Land Development Authority (RLDA).

Among other significant achievements is RITES' order of exporting 200 passenger coaches to Bangladesh, Mithal said, adding that in another couple of months, the first train set of 20 coaches will be exported.

The Navratna central public sector enterprise (CPSE) offers consultancy services across 13 verticals such as railways, highways, metros, airports, buildings, ports & waterways, urban city planning, bridge & tunnel engineering and sustainability, among others.

The company recently announced its financial performance for the second quarter (July-September), which showed double-digit sequential growth with over 150 fresh orders worth Rs 850 crore, he said.

Mithal said the company has maintained a consistent strike rate of receiving one order a day for the past seven financial quarters, and in Q2, it outperformed this with 1.6 orders a day.

He said the company's focus on its five-point action plan -- securing one order a day, one export order a quarter, achieving an order book of Rs 10,000 crore by the first quarter of the next financial year, sequential improvement with expeditious execution of orders, and maintaining profit margins above 15 per cent -- has put it on the right path with the right decisions.