Image: PTI

Image: PTI

(With inputs from agencies)

* The Madhepura factory is a high-value Foreign Direct Investment joint venture with French rolling stock giant Alstom , reported news agency IANS* The Rs 20,000-crore project is expected to roll out 800 high horsepower locomotives over 11 years* The average cost of each locomotive is estimated to be Rs 25 crore* The project cost includes Rs 1,300 crore for the setting up of the factory and two locomotive maintenance depots at Saharanpur (in Uttar Pradesh) and Nagpur (in Maharashtra) and the building of the stipulated number of locomotives* According to the agreement, the first five locomotives will be imported, while the remaining 795 will be manufactured in the country under the 'Make in India' programme* The first locomotive, being rolled out today, April 10, will be followed by four more in the current fiscal* In 2019-2020, the facility will manufacture around 35 locomotives, followed by 60 in 2020-21. Following that, the factory will roll out 100 locomotives annually, till it achieves its target* The locomotives will be used to transport coal and iron ore, a senior official at the railway ministry told IANS* The 12,000 horsepower (HP), heavy-haulage locomotives will come equipped with insulated-gate bipolar transistor-based propulsion technology. Up until now, the Indian Railways' most powerful electric engine had a capacity of 6,000HP* With the launch, India will join countries like Russia, China, Germany and Sweden, which have electric locomotives of capacity 12,000HP and above