DAHOD (GUJARAT): In the next one month, India will get the country’s most powerful and modern rail engine with 9,000 horsepower (HP) that can pull freight trains with a load of 4,500-5,000 tonnes and at top speed of 100 kmph.
Railway minister Ashwini Vaishnaw, while reviewing the progress of the electric locomotive production at Dahod Workshop on Saturday, said 89% of the engine that is ready for the launch has the Made in India component. This is the first loco factory in Gujarat.
“I throw a challenge to engineers and technical professionals to achieve 100% Make in India engines. There is a huge potential for export of these engines. The first loco will be ready for launch in 30-40 days,” Vaishnaw said at the factory.
Increasing the speed of freight trains remains a major concern for the railways. To increase average speed of freight trains and faster clearance of tracks to operate more trains, railways needs to deploy more high HP and high-speed locomotives.
In 2020, railways had manufactured 12,000 HP electric locomotives at Electric Locomotive Factory in Madhepura (Bihar). But this model has two engines compared to the ones being manufactured at Dahod that have single engines.
“So, the new one that will be rolled out will be the most powerful engine of railways in India. Now, the introduction of these 9,000 HP engines will help to bring revolution in freight operations. The locomotives, being manufactured at Dahod will be compatible with digital tracking system, Kavach, green features with 3-phase propulsion system,” a railway official said.
Railway ministry said the Dahod workshop will manufacture broad gauge electric locomotives for Indian Railways and standard gauge electric locomotives for the export market.
Earlier in the day, Vaishnaw reviewed the progress of the Ahmedabad-Mumbai Bullet Train project, including the upcoming station at Anand and inspected a steel bridge comprising two spans across NH-48. Each span weighs 1,500 tonnes and has been fabricated at a workshop near Hapur in Uttar Pradesh.
The jointing of steel members using specialised bolts that has been designed for a 100-year lifespan.
The minister also reviewed the progress of the Ahmedabad station redevelopment project.