Alstom delivers 100th electric locomotive to Indian Railways for freight service

Alstom has successfully manufactured and delivered the 100th electric locomotive to Indian Railways. As part of the contract worth €3.5 billion won in 2015, the company will be supplying 800 fully electric high-powered double-section locomotives of 12,000 HP (9 MW) for freight service, capable of hauling 6,000 tonnes at a top speed of 120 km/hr. This is the largest Foreign Direct Investment project in the Indian Railway sector.
In the financial year 2020-2021, Indian Railways recorded a freight loading of 1,232 million tonnes, which was 2 per cent higher than the previous fiscal. Introduction of faster trains has helped increase the average speed of transportation by 83 per cent leading to a shorter turnaround time and has supported the movement of essential goods during COVID-19 times .
With the first Prima T8TM WAG-12B inducted for commercial service in May 2020, these locomotives are transforming the heavy freight transportation landscape of India. Deployed for operations on major freight routes, including Dedicated Freight Corridors, the Prima T8TM WAG-12Be-Locos have already clocked over close to 5 million kilometres hauling a wide range of commodities. These locomotives also made the inaugural run on the first fully operational sections of the Dedicated Freight Corridors, in December 2020. Some of the key commodities moved by these e-Locos include – coal, cement, food grains, fertilisers, petrochemical products, minerals, and posts/ parcels, across 17 States & 2 Union Territories.