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Indian Railways has issued the Letter of Award (LoA) for the manufacturing and maintenance of 9000 HP Electric Freight Locomotives to Siemens India.
The railways' factory at Dahod to will manufacture 1,200 high horsepower (9000 HP) electric locomotives over a period of 11 years. Also, it would entail the maintenance of these locomotives for 35 years. A Ministry of Railways statement on Saturday said the estimated value of the contract is about Rs 26,000 crore (about USD 3.2 billion), excluding taxes and price variation. Agreement with Siemens India, which was selected by Indian Railways through a fair, transparent, and competitive bidding process, will be signed within 30 days of the issue of the letter of award, the ministry said. "The prototype locomotives are to be delivered in the coming two years. Dahod Unit will be fully constructed for manufacturing these locomotives within a period of two years," it added. Siemens, selected as the technological partner, will manufacture these locomotives at Dahod and maintain these locomotives at four maintenance depots - Vishakhapatnam, Raipur, Kharagpur, and Pune for a period of 35 years utilizing the Railway's Manpower. "Suitable economic drivers will ensure complete indigenization of the manufacturing which in turn will lead to the development of ancillary manufacturing units making it a true 'Make in India' initiative. The project will also lead to the development of the Dahod region and generate employment," the ministry said in the statement. 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 gradients 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 an 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. (ANI)
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