New Delhi: Indian Railways has issued the Letter of Award (LoA) for manufacturing and maintenance of 9000 HP electric freight locomotives to Siemens, India. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone of the project on 20th April 2022 at Railway’s Factory at Dahod.
This move signifies a giant leap forward in ‘Make in India’ drive and ‘Make for the World.’ Dahod Factory will manufacture high horsepower electric locomotives for Indian Railways as well as export market and will help in upskilling of Railway’s manpower working in Railways Production Unit and maintenance depots, said the Ministry in a statement.
The Ministry said that the manufacturing unit will trigger setting up of ancillary manufacturing units, generation of direct and indirect employment and development in the region. This project will usher in development of new technologies in India through high pace indigenisation.
The estimated value of the contract is about Rs 26000 crore (about 3.2 Billion USD), excluding taxes and price variation. The agreement with Siemens India will be signed within 30 days of issue of LoA. The proto-type locomotives are to be delivered in the coming two years.
The Ministry said that suitable economic drivers will ensure complete indigenization 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 quantum jump in the operating parameters will lead to 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.
Indian Railways have selected Siemens India through a fair, transparent and competitive bidding process as the technology partner to manufacture and maintain these locomotives utilising railway staff under the supervision of technology partner, said the Ministry. /BI/
