Siemens India to make 1,200 electric locomotives for railways for Rs 26,000 crore

Siemens India has signed a Rs 26,000-crore contract to manufacture 1,200 electric freight locomotives for the railways, the company said in a statement.

The contract to manufacture 9000 HP locomotives with the ministry of railways is the single biggest order for Siemens Limited in India, the statement 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," Sunil Mathur, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer, Siemens Limited, said.

Deliveries are planned over an 11-year period and the contract includes 35 years of full-service maintenance.

Also Read: Siemens, India to manufacture 1,200 high-horsepower electric freight locomotives for railways

"The locomotives will be assembled in the Indian Railways factory in Dahod, Gujarat… The contract has a total value of Rs 26,000 crore (approximately), excluding taxes and price variation." the statement said.

Maintenance will be done at Indian Railways depots in Visakhapatnam, Raipur, Kharagpur and Pune. The assembly and maintenance will be done along with the staff of Indian Railways.

The state-of-the-art locomotives will be used for freight transport and are specified to haul loads of 4,500 tons at a maximum speed of 120 km an hour.

"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,” Siemens CEO Roland Busch said.