The photo of the locomotive.
Credit: Special Arrangement
Mumbai: In a significant milestone, Alstom, a global leader in smart and sustainable mobility, has successfully delivered its 500th electric locomotive to Indian Railways.
Alstom has delivered its 500th electric locomotive for Indian Railways from its Madhepura site in Bihar to Indian Railways.
This milestone underscores Alstom's commitment to supporting the modernisation of India's rail infrastructure and its contribution to the nation's ambitious freight transportation goals.
The 500th fully India-made Prima T8 WAG12B e-locomotive was flagged off from Alstom’s world-class manufacturing facility in Madhepura, Bihar, in the presence of key dignitaries from Indian Railways, Manish Kumar, Chief Administrative Officer and senior officials from Alstom at an event marking this project milestone. As part of its contract worth Pounds 3.5 billion, Alstom is supplying 800 high-powered double-section Prima T8 locomotives of 12,000 HP (9 MW) for freight service.
Designated by Indian Railways as WAG-12B, these locomotives are capable of hauling ~6,000 tonne rakes at a top speed of 120 kph. To ensure high availability of India’s most advanced freight locomotives and reduce maintenance cost, Alstom has also built two ultramodern state-of-the-art maintenance depots at Saharanpur and Nagpur, using predictive technologies.
Commenting on the milestone, Olivier Loison, Managing Director, Alstom India, said, "Our WAG 12B electric locomotives powered by cutting-edge technology are fully manufactured in India and provide enhanced speed, efficiency, and reliability of freight haulage across the country. The delivery of our 500th e-loco underscores our commitment to modernise India's railway infrastructure especially for freight, thereby driving economic growth.”
The WAG-12B locomotives are being built at one of India’s largest integrated greenfield manufacturing facilities at Madhepura (Bihar), under a Joint Venture between Alstom and Indian Railways. This is the largest Foreign Direct Investment project in the Indian railway sector. The facility has an installed production capacity of 120 locomotives per annum and Alstom has progressively achieved near 90% localisation.
This project is a prime example of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, with more than 85 per cent of the components sourced locally, reinforcing India’s local manufacturing capabilities. The project has placed India among an elite group of nations capable of producing high-horsepower locomotives domestically while fostering technological expertise within the country. Some of the key commodities moved over more than 120 million kilometres by these e-locos include - coal, cement, food grains, fertilisers, petrochemical products, minerals, and posts/ parcels, across entire geographical boundaries of the nation.