Alstom delivers the 500th electric locomotive for Indian Railways from its Madhepura site

The 500th fully India-made Prima T8 WAG12B e-locomotive was flagged off from Alstom’s world-class manufacturing facility in Madhepura, Bihar, in the presence of key dignitaries from Indian Railways Mr. Manish Kumar, Chief Administrative Officer and senior officials from Alstom at an event marking this project milestone. 

As part of its contract worth €3.5 billion, Alstom is supplying 800 high-powered double-section Prima T8 locomotives of 12,000 HP (9 MW) for freight service. Designated by Indian Railways as WAG-12B, these locomotives are capable of hauling ~6,000 tonne rakes at a top speed of 120 kph. To ensure high availability of India’s most advanced freight locomotives and reduce maintenance cost, Alstom has also built two ultramodern state-of-the-art maintenance depots at Saharanpur and Nagpur, using predictive technologies.

Commenting on the milestone, Olivier Loison, Managing Director, Alstom India, said, "Our WAG 12B electric locomotives powered by cutting-edge technology are fully manufactured in India and provide enhanced speed, efficiency, and reliability of freight haulage across the country. The delivery of our 500th e-loco underscores our commitment to modernise India's railway infrastructure especially for freight, thereby driving economic growth.”

The WAG-12B locomotives are being built at one of India’s largest integrated greenfield manufacturing facilities at Madhepura (Bihar), under a Joint Venture between Alstom and Indian Railways. This is the largest Foreign Direct Investment project in the Indian railway sector. The facility has an installed production capacity of 120 locomotives per annum and Alstom has progressively achieved near 90% localisation.

This project is a prime example of the ‘Make in India’ initiative, with more than 85 per cent of the components sourced locally, reinforcing India’s local manufacturing capabilities. The project has placed India among an elite group of nations capable of producing high-horsepower locomotives domestically while fostering technological expertise within the country. Some of the key commodities moved over more than 120 million kilometres by these e-locos include - coal, cement, food grains, fertilisers, petrochemical products, minerals, and posts/ parcels, across entire geographical boundaries of the nation.

Equipped with Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT) based propulsion technology, these e-Locos have considerable savings in energy consumption with the use of regenerative braking. The technology is also helpful towards making the acceleration process more efficient by reducing the heat generation and traction noise. Additionally, it will not only bring down operational costs, but also reduce the congestion faced by Indian Railways.

Alstom has been associated with India’s progress for over 100 years. As the leading multinational sustainable mobility provider in India, Alstom offers a comprehensive portfolio of offerings to meet customer specific needs, from cost-efficient mass-market platforms to high-end technological innovations. Synonymous with the country’s ‘Rail Revolution’, Alstom continues to be a strategic partner in supporting India’s freight revolution and passenger movement.

ALSTOM™ and Prima T8™  are protected trademarks of the Alstom Group.