Alstom To Complete Govt Order of 800 Electric Locomotives In Next Five Years

The French rolling stock maker Alstom said it will complete the order for 800 fully electric 12,000 horsepower locomotives for the Indian Railways in the next five years.

“We’ve delivered 276 locomotives out of 800, and close to 100 locomotives will be delivered every year from here,” Anil Kumar Saini, managing director of rolling stock and components at the company’s India unit, told BQ Prime. “In the next five years, the order will be completed.”

The WAG-12B locomotives, considered the most powerful electric engines made in India, are already being used for carrying goods on major freight routes, including on the ambitious dedicated freight corridors.

“Indian Railways needs to create a lot of capacity, which they’re doing. Part of the capacity building is putting the high-horsepower locomotives on the track, which can carry freight faster and also haul longer and heavier trains,” Saini said.