Indian Railways Inducts 100th 'Made In India' Electric Locomotive On Network
Indian Railways authorities inducted the 100th 'Made in India' electric locomotive or e-loco in its fleet on Thursday, May 6, which was build in the country's largest integrated greenfield manufacturing facilities. These electric locomotives of 12,000 horsepower (HP) are the country's most powerful indigenous locomotives, which have already covered more than 4.8 million kilometers, hauling several commodities across 17 states and two union territories. According to a recent statement released by the Railway Ministry, the e-locos are a part of the government's 'Make in India' initiative. (Also Read: Alstom Delivers 100th Electric Locomotive As Part Of Biggest FDI In Indian Railways )
The national transporter had entered into a procurement cum maintenance agreement with the Madhepura Electric Locomotive Private Limited - one of the country's largest integrated greenfield manufacturing facilities, situated in Madhepura in Bihar. The 100th electric locomotive is named WAG 12 B with number 60100, said the Railway Ministry. These high-horsepower electric locomotives help to decongest the saturated tracks by improving the average speed and the loading capacity of freight trains operating on the network.
The engines of these e-locos will increase the speed of freight transport to two times faster. The WAG 12B locomotive is installed with insulated gate bipolar transistors or IGBT-based propulsion technology and makes use of regenerative braking, which reduces the consumption of energy. The locomotives remanufactured with a Bo-Bo design having 22.5 tonnes of axle load, which is upgradable to 25 tonnes. The e-locos have a design speed of 120 km per hour.
The electric locomotives can also be tracked through the global positioning system (GPS) for its strategic use through embedded software and also, an antennae being lifted through the servers on the ground through a microwave link.
