Dahod: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday virtually dedicated the first unit of railway production plant in Dahod. In the first phase of Rs. 332 crore, railway production unit’s structure is ready. The fitting and assembly workshop is also ready. The Prime Minister had done Shilanyas of this factory in year 2022 during a function in Dahod. The total project is worth Rs. 663.30 crore. The factory in the span of 11 years will make 1200 and 9000 HP electric locomotive worth Rs. 20,000 crore. The Prime Minister also virtually inaugurated one station one product stall at Dahod railway station.

Indian Railways issued the Letter of Award (LoA) for Manufacturing and Maintenance of 9000 HP Electric Freight Locomotives to Siemens, India in December 2022. Railways factory at Dahod to manufacture 1200 high horse power (9000 HP) electric locomotives over a period of 11 years. It would entail manufacturing of 1200 locomotives and maintenance of these locomotives for 35 years. The estimated value of contract is about INR 26000 Crore (about 3.2 Billion USD), excluding taxes and price variation.

Dahod Unit will be fully constructed for manufacturing these locomotives. Siemens, selected as technological partner, will manufacture these locomotives at Dahod and maintain these locomotives at four maintenance depots – Vishakhapatnam, Raipur, Kharagpur, Pune for a period of 35 years utilising Railway’s Manpower.

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.

These High Horse Power (9000 HP) locomotives will be the future workhorse for freight operation on Indian Railways. These locomotives are planned for use primarily on Western DFC and on graded sections of Railways for hauling container freight trains in double stack configuration of 4500 Tonnes at 75 kmph at 1 in 200 gradient and improve the average speed of such trains to around 50-60 kmph over the existing 20-25 kmph. 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.

There is a provision to manufacture and supply Standard Gauge locomotives for export market. DeshGujarat