Siemens Equipping Indian Railways Electrification Drive

German multinational conglomerate, Siemens will provide Indian Railways upgraded electric locomotives from 6000 HP to 9000 HP, the company said on Wednesday.

“The company is equipping the Railways 9,000 HP electric locomotive with the first indigenously-designed and produced integrated propulsion system and steel tank transformer,” Siemens said.

The Indian Railways will be supplied with indigenously-made integrated propulsion system and steel tank transformer from Siemens. Indian railways is undergoing a transformation as part of its rail electrification initiative.

“The advanced technology aims to save traction energy cost, thereby reducing fuel expenses and carbon emissions,” the company said in a release. Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), the state-owned electric locomotive maker has pre-commissioned this 9,000 HP electric locomotive and trial runs will commence soon.

These locomotives, Siemens said, will boost the haulage capacity of Indian Railways by around 50 %, thereby improving average speed and utilization of rolling stock assets. The advanced technology aims to save traction energy cost, thereby reducing fuel expenses and carbon emissions.

“This important milestone is a step towards fulfilling Indian Railways’ vision of complete electrification, enhanced haulage capability and building high-technology systems in line with the Make in India initiative,” said Tilak Raj Seth, executive vice president of Mobility at Siemens.

Siemens focuses on power generation and distribution, intelligent infrastructure for buildings and distributed energy systems, automation and digitalization in the process and manufacturing industries. It is also a leading supplier of smart mobility solutions for rail and road transport and infrastructure solutions for Smart Cities.

Indian trains which primarily run on electricity or diesel is undergoing electrification after the cabinet approved the plan to electrify 108 sections of the railways covering 13,675 route kilometers of tracks, last year. Also, the plan includes complete electrification of broad-gauge routes to improve upon safety, capacity, and speed. The government plans to save ₹ 13,510 crores per annum in fuel costs.

Currently, around two-third of freight and more than half of passenger traffic in Indian Railways are ferried by electric traction (engines). However, electric traction accounts for just 37% of the total energy expenses of Indian Railways.