Alstom has achieved a key milestone with the delivery of its 500th electric locomotive to Indian Railways, the company said on Tuesday.
The company highlighted that all of these locomotives are fully manufactured in India, underscoring a major step in both Alstom’s and India’s Railways’ modernisation efforts.
The 500th fully India-made Prima T8 WAG12B e-locomotive was delivered from Alstom’s state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in Madhepura, Bihar. The delivery event was attended by key dignitaries, including Mr. Manish Kumar, Chief Administrative Officer of Indian Railways, along with senior officials from Alstom.
This milestone is part of a €3.5 billion contract under which Alstom is supplying 800 high-powered double-section Prima T8 locomotives, each with a capacity of 12,000 HP (9 MW) for freight services. The locomotives, identified by Indian Railways as WAG-12B, are designed to haul heavy freight rakes weighing approximately 6,000 tonnes at speeds of up to 120 km/h.
“Our WAG 12B electric locomotives, powered by cutting-edge technology, are fully manufactured in India and provide enhanced speed, efficiency, and reliability of freight haulage across the country. The delivery of our 500th eloco underscores our commitment to modernizing India’s railway infrastructure, especially for freight, thereby driving
economic growth,” said Olivier Loison, Managing Director of Alstom India.
The locomotives are built at Alstom’s Madhepura facility, one of India’s largest integrated greenfield manufacturing sites, established as part of a joint venture with Indian Railways, the company said.
This project has become the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in India’s railway sector. With an annual production capacity of 120 locomotives, the Madhepura facility has achieved nearly 90% localization, with over 85% of the components being sourced locally.
Alstom’s collaboration with Indian Railways has helped position India among a select few nations capable of producing high-horsepower locomotives domestically, the company added.
Equipped with advanced Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistor (IGBT)-based propulsion technology, the e-locomotives offer significant energy savings through regenerative braking. These improvements not only enhance operational efficiency but also reduce the environmental impact by minimizing heat generation and traction noise.
The use of these locomotives has contributed to reducing congestion on the rail network, further supporting the economic development of India through the efficient transport of key commodities such as coal, cement, food grains, fertilizers, petrochemicals, minerals, and parcels across the country, Alstom said.
