Siemens signs $3 billion deal to manufacture locomotives for Indian Railways
Locomotives will be manufactured in the Indian Railways factory, located in Dahod, Gujarat. Siemens will be doing maintenance of these locomotives for 35 years.
The 9000-horsepower all-electric freight-locomotives with 120 km/h speed won siemens a contract worth $3.26 billion from Indian Railways. It’s the biggest locomotive deal in the history of the company. Siemens will deliver 1200 locomotives and provide maintenance for 35 years.
“The company will design, manufacture, commission and test the locomotives. Deliveries are planned over an eleven-year period, and the contract includes 35 years of full-service maintenance,” it said in an exchange filing.
The trains will be manufactured in the Indian Railways plant in Dahod, Gujarat. Maintenance will be done in four Indian Railways depots situated in Vishakhapatnam, Raipur, Kharagpur and Pune.
Locomotive assembly and maintenance will be implemented together with the staff of Indian Railways. “The contract has a total value of ₹26,000 crores (approximately), excluding taxes and price variation,” it said.
“Siemens is supporting the sustainable transformation of India’s transportation sector as the country seeks to almost double freight capacity on its railways,” said Siemens CEO Roland Busch. “I’m proud that this major order will help India achieve its ambitious goal of creating the world’s largest green rail network, as our locomotives will save more than 800 million tons of CO2 emissions over their lifecycle.”
Sunil Mathur, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Limited, said, “Siemens Limited takes pride in partnering with Indian Railways in this prestigious project. 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 next-gen locomotives will be utilized for cargo transport all through the Indian rail routes network and are capable to pull loads of 4,500 tons at a max speed of 120 km/h.
They will be the second most powerful locomotive in the Indian Railways, their electric motors are very efficient and are considered reliable in high-temperature conditions.
The government wants to increase the share of railways in the logistics industry, it will help to reduce carbon emission as well as generate revenue for the state.
