Alstom has successfully manufactured and delivered the 100th electric locomotive to the Indian Railways. Built in one of the country’s largest integrated greenfield manufacturing facilities, these are the most powerful Made-in-India electric locomotives.
As part of the largest foreign direct investment (FDI) project of the Railways, the Ministry of Railways and Alstom signed a contract worth EUR 350 crore (Rs 25,000 crore) in 2015 and created a joint venture (JV).
The contract allowed for the manufacture of 800 double-section, 12,000 HP electric locomotives for freight service and associated maintenance for a period of 11 years.
The scope also included the setting up of a manufacturing plant in Bihar’s Madhepura for building the e-locos and two maintenance depots in Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh and Nagpur, Maharashtra.
The project is touted to create more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in the country, primarily in Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra.
Deployed for operations on the major freight routes, including the dedicated freight corridors, the Prima T8 WAG-12B e-locos have already clocked close to 50 lakh km, hauling a wide range of commodities.
Some of the key commodities moved by these e-locos include coal, cement, foodgrains, fertilisers, petrochemical products, minerals and posts or parcels across 17 states and two Union territories.
