Alstom to deliver 10 electric locomotives to railways this fiscal

NEW DELHI: French rolling stock manufacturer Alstom will deliver 10 high-powered electric locomotives in this financial year through its Madhepura Electric Locomotive Pvt Ltd. (MELPL), its joint venture with the Indian Railways.
The delivery schedule is part of a comprehensive ‘recovery plan’ drawn up following a delay in supply of these locomotives under the initial agreement. Alstom had in 2015 bagged a Rs 20,000-crore order for supplying 800 high-powered electric locomotives to the Indian Railways, one of the largest instances of public-private partnership in the country.

As part of the contract, after rolling out the first prototype, the company was to supply four more locomotives assembled at its Madhepura facility in Bihar last year, 35 locomotives in FY20, another 60 in FY21, and 100 every year after that till the completion of the order, with the delivery spread over a period of 11years. The French major and the Indian Railways hold 74% and 26% equity share, respectively in MELPL.

ET has learnt that based on the previous test results, Alstom has redesigned the complete locomotive, including the bogies, which will undergo oscillation tests and trials this month. “After test and trials, Alstom will accelerate the delivery schedule and supply 10 locomotives in FY2019-20, and 90 locomotives in FY20-21 and 100 locomotives per year beyond March 2021 as per their recovery plan,” the Indian Railways said in a statement on Thursday.

According to this ‘recovery plan’, the delivery schedule would be back on track by the end of FY21. The Indian Railways is planning to go fully electric by 2021-22. The national transporter is hopeful that the locomotive will pass the test run this time given that Alstom has redesigned it keeping in mind the Indian track conditions, the official said. The official also said that the joint venture is on track. This is the first time that such high horse powered locomotive is being tested on a broad gauge network by any railways in the world.