Siemens Emerges Lowest Bidder For 1,200 E-Locomotives Worth Rs 20,000 Crore

German engineering major Siemens has won a contract to build 1,200 electric locomotives with 9000 HorsePower at Dahod in Gujarat for more than Rs 20,000 crore. The tender from Indian Railways was published in April this year. The Indian railways has set itself a net zero target of 2030, with a major part of the loco fleet expected to be electric by 2025 itself.

Recently, Prime Minister Narendra Modi laid the cornerstone for the project to build 9,000 HP electric locomotives at the Dahod Railway production facility. Around Rs 20,000 crore was the project’s projected cost.

The Dahod workshop, founded in 1926 for the routine maintenance of steam locomotives, is currently undergoing infrastructure upgrades to become a production facility for electric locomotives. More than 10,000 individuals are anticipated to benefit from direct and indirect jobs.

At the Dahod complex, 1,200 locomotives will be produced over 11 years, from 2023–2024 to 2033–2034. The winning bidder will provide 35 locomotives in the second year after providing five in the first. In the third and fourth years, up to 80 locomotives may be delivered annually.

In the fifth and sixth years, manufacturing will be expanded to 100 locomotives annually. After that, until 2033–2034, 160 locomotives will be produced annually. A single 9000 HP, 6 axle Co-Co locomotive will be used on all Indian Railways routes to haul loads weighing 4,500 tonnes at an average speed of 75 kmph.

The designated government depots for maintenance would be located in Kharagpur (West Bengal), Visakhapatnam (Andhra Pradesh), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), and Pune, each having a holding capacity of 300. (Maharashtra).

Indian Railway anticipates receiving its first locomotive from the Dahod site in the first quarter of 2024. The locomotive will be produced using green energy and will bear a tag that says “green manufacturing.” A train stop along the Delhi-Mumbai route is called Dahod.