Rail Analysis India March 2018 Digital Magazine | Page 42

Exclusive Interview | 41
For 2018, How Many locomotives has Alstom targeted
for production this year and further handing over to Indian
Railways? When will these locomotives be used for
Operations by the IR?
As mentioned before, the supply of the electric locomotives
will follow the plan originally agreed upon with the Indian
Railways. The first prototype has been delivered to the Indian
railways in February 2018 as promised, which will be followed
by the second in 2019. Post the trials and tests, the production
will be increased to 35 in 2020, 60 in 2021 and 100 each
year till 2029. A total of 800 double section freight electric
locomotives will be supplied followed by the associated long-
term maintenance of the said engines.
Given the recent decision of the Hon’ble Minister of Railways
to put electrification of the non-electrified sections of
Indian Railways on a fast track, the requirement of electric
Locomotives is likely to increase substantially. To that end,
we do hope to get an opportunity to serve this burgeoning
demand for electric locomotives and manufacture electric
locomotives well beyond what the current contract envisages.
Rolling Stock
How much of the Supply Chain of the Locomotive is within
India? Will there be further indigenization in India over the
years of the project?
The PRIMA (WAG12) locomotive is made up of 2500
components out of which, 85-90% has been sourced locally
from India making this a true Make in India project.
It includes important components for the locomotive like the
transformers from ABB, couplers from Faiveley, brakes from
Knorr Bremse and so on.
The remaining 10-15% or so has been supplied from across
the globe, mostly from Alstom sites in France, primarily due to
precise and sensitive nature of the parts.
Alstom is already at a very high level of localization for
this project to keep it competitive and continues to look at
opportunities to further increase the localization aspect of the
project.
Image Credits: Alstom India
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