CLW sales at Rs 687cr

The achievement has not gone unnoticed: CLW has been approached by Trenitalia, the Italian railroad operator, through the international consultant firm McKinsey & Co for making four-axle locomotives. The platform proposed by Trenitalia was similar to WAP-5 class locomotive currently being produced by CLW as its flagship product.

It was aiming to produce 128 locomotives in fiscal 2005-06, R Sivadasan, general manager of CLW, said. In the month of March 2005, CLW produced a record 111 traction motors and 18 locomotives.

CLW is the only organisation in IR which is part of the National Mission on Power Electronic Technology (NAMPET) "" a strategic mission area of GoI to set up world class power electronic industrial base.

An export and sales wing is being established in line with other production units of the railways.

Sadasivam said traffic carried by IR was expected to rise from 600 million tonne in 2004-05 to 631 million tonne and this would require a 30 per cent increase in electric loco production to provide necessary haulage capacity.

Traffic on IR was expected to rise further to 700 mn tonnes.