First WAG12B Electric Locomotive begins its service in India Railways

New Delhi, India (Urban Transport News): French Rolling Stock manufacturer Alstom in collaboration with Indian Railways has delivered its first 'Make in India' 12000 HP WAG12B Electric Locomotive to the Nation. This locomotive has now started its services from Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyay Railway station in Uttar Pradesh, informed Union Railway Minister Piyush Goyal on Monday.

"Bolstering PM  Narendra Modi Ji's vision of Make in India, first WAG12B (12000 HP) loco departed from Pt. Deen Dayal Upadhyaya station in Uttar Pradesh today. Powerful and capable of high speed, the locomotive is a significant addition to the Indian Railways," tweeted Piyush Goyal, Union Railway Minister.

“Alstom is pleased to start delivery of the electric locomotives to Indian Railways. Commencement of induction into the IR fleet testifies our commitment towards the country. This is a revolutionary product that will be faster, safer, and eco-friendly. Also, it is scripting a new chapter for India’s sustainable mobility journey and we are happy to be partnering in this.” said Alain SPOHR, Managing Director, Alstom India & South Asia.

The new electric locomotive has been manufactured and assembled at Electric Locomotive Factory, Madhepura by Alstom as part of a Rs 25,000 crore (US$ 3.5 Euros) ‘Make in India’ deal with Govt. of India.

The electric locomotive project is a joint venture between Alstom SA with Indian Railways and involves the manufacturing of 800 fully electric “super-powered” 12,000 HP  locomotives to run on Indian Railways' tracks at 120 km per hour.

The manufacturing of the first Locomotive was commenced on 11 October 2017 and after successful trial tests by the Eastern division of Indian Railways, it has been included in the fleet of Indian Railways in March this year. These locomotives will be used to power trains on the Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs) of Indian Railways.

According to the Alstom, WAG12B (12000 HP) electric locomotive makes use of low voltage cables and has LED lamps – making it a “green loco”. The electric locomotive has been made keeping in mind extreme heat and humidity in India. The electric locomotive is equipped with Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT)-based propulsion technology, which will lead to savings in energy consumption due to the use of regenerative braking. Here are some salient features of the WAG12B (12000 HP) Electric Locomotive:

• The WAG12B ('W'ide/broad Gauge 'A'C Electric 'G'oods/freight, Class'12','B'Modified Bogie) is a three-phase, twin-section electric freight locomotive consisting of two identical sections, each of which rests on twin-axle bogies.
• The manufacturing of WAG12B (12000 HP) Electric Locomotive was commenced after Indian Railways signed a record deal in November 2015 with Alstom for the development of 800 high-horsepower electric freight locomotives.
• The locomotive will be used in the Dedicated Freight Corridors to haul freight trains weighing more than 6,000 tonnes at speeds of 100 km/h to 120 km/h, essentially doubling the average speed of freight trains in the sector.
• Manufacturing of first Class WAG12 Electric Locomotive, 60001, was completed on 10 March 2018 as part of the Prima family.
• The locomotive incorporates special features based on the Alstom Prima T8 for operations in humid or dusty environments and extreme temperatures (ranging from −58 °F to 122 °F.
• The cabin of the locomotive is comparatively larger and offers better comfort for drivers, especially during long-distance operations. The locomotives are equipped with climate control systems such as air conditioners, food preparation and storage facilities, and even a toilet facility.
• Around 85-90% of the components for the Locomotive were procured from within India.
• The all-weather transformers are supplied by ABB which was produced in Vadodara, Gujarat.
• German brake manufacturing firm Knorr-Bremse has supplied power brakes which were produced in Palwal, Haryana.
• The couplers of the locomotive were designed and developed by the French Railway company Faiveley Transport.

Alstom has delivered a prototype locomotive in March 2018. Based on the test results, the company has redesigned the complete locomotive including bogies. The new design of the locomotive was inspected by RDSO at the Madhepura factory and cleared for dispatch from the factory.

Initially, deliveries of the locomotives are planned from 2018 through 2028, with the first locomotive slated to enter service in 2018, and a total of five by 2019 which was to be followed by the assembly of 35 new locomotives in 2020, 60 in 2021, and 100 locomotives each year from 2022 until all 800 locomotives are delivered but later the delivery schedule was revised due to some technical glitches. According to the revised delivery schedule, Alstom was expected to supply the first 10 locomotives in FY 2019-20 and thereafter 90 locomotives in FY 2020-21 and 100 locomotives per year beyond March 2021 as per their recovery plan.

As part of the project, the Electric Locomotive factory along with the township has been set up in Madhepura, Bihar with the capacity to manufacture 120 locomotives per year. The project is expected to create more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in India.