Siemens signs ₹26,000 crore electric loco deal with Indian Railways | Mint – Mint

In a statement, the German engineering company said that the deal is the biggest locomotive deal in the history Siemens Mobility and the single largest order for the company in India. 

As per the agreement, Siemens will deliver 1,200 electric locomotives of high capacity 9000 horse power (HP) and also provide servicing for 35 years to the Railways.

 “Siemens Limited will design, manufacture, commission and test the locomotives. The deliveries of 1,200 locos would be undertaken over an eleven-year period, and the contract includes 35 years of full service maintenance. The locomotives will be assembled in the Indian Railways factory in Dahod, Gujarat,” Michael Peter, chief executive officer, Siemens Mobility told Mint in an interview.

 “We will also build artificial intelligence into the locomotives to predict failures before they happen to bring availability up. The first set of these locos will be up for delivery in 24 months time,” he said. 

The 9000 HP loco will be a first for Indian Railways and will allow it to increase the capacity it’s freight trains while also significantly improving on speeds of operations. The Siemens-designed locos will come with a top speed of 120 km per hour.

The order was a big step for Siemens in India, Peter said adding that it strengthen Siemens Mobility’s presence in the market that holds immense potential for the company. The mobility wing largely provided components and infrastructure in India.

Sunil Mathur, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Limited, said, “The 9000 HP electric locomotive is a significant milestone in the rail electrification mission of Indian Railways, and we are proud to build these in India using the latest technology provided by Siemens Mobility. This is another step in Siemens strategy of continued localisation under the Make in India vision of the Government, to provide integrated, cost effective and sustainable offerings to meet the nation’s freight and passenger transportation demands.“

The locomotives will be assembled in the Indian Railways factory in Dahod, Gujarat. Maintenance will be performed in four Indian Railways depots located in Vishakhapatnam, Raipur, Kharagpur and Pune. Locomotive assembly and maintenance will be implemented together with the staff of Indian Railways.

The state-of-the-art locomotives will be used for freight transport throughout the Indian Railways network and are specified to haul loads of 4,500 tons at a maximum speed of 120 km per hour. Producing 9000 HP, they will be one of the most powerful freight locomotives in the world. They will be equipped with advanced propulsion systems that are also produced locally in Siemens factories in India as well as the Railigent platform to deliver high levels of availability and performance.

Peters said Siemens was also looking at other train contracts in India which has one of the world’s largest rail transport and logistics networks used daily by 24 million passengers on more than 22,000 trains. 

Additionally, the Government plans to increase the share of railways in freight to 40-45% from the current 27%. India is one of the few countries in the world with an almost fully-electrified rail network, Siemens said in a statement.