German engineer Siemens has signed a €3bn contract to supply 1,200 electric freight locomotives to India, the largest such deal in the company’s history.
Over the next 11 years it will supply the locomotives to Indian Railways and maintain each for 35 years.
Siemens said the locomotives would eventually replace up to 800,000 trucks.
They’ll be assembled at the Indian Railways factory in Dahod, in the state of Gujarat. Maintenance will be done in four depots located in Vishakhapatnam, Raipur, Kharagpur and Pune.
“I’m proud that this major order will help India achieve its ambitious goal of creating the world’s largest green rail network, as our locomotives will save more than 800 million tons of carbon emissions over their lifecycle,” said Siemens chief executive Roland Busch.
The 9,000-horsepower locomotives will haul loads of 4,500 tons at a maximum speed of 120km/h, and Siemens Mobility will use its Railigent data platform to “deliver the highest availability and performance”.
India’s rail networks are used by 24 million passengers a day, travelling on more than 22,000 trains. The Government of India plans to increase the share of railways for freight transport to 40-45% from 27% at present, and to achieve zero net carbon by 2030.
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