PM Modi dedicates first 12,000 HP electric engine to the nation

Motihari: On his one-day visit to Bihar in connection with launch of several political and developmental programmes, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday unveiled the commissioning of Madhepura-based electric rail engine factory and dedicated the first locomotive of 12,000 horsepower(HP) made in that factory to the nation.
With this, India will join a few select countries like Russia, China, Germany and Sweden that have 12,000 HP and above capacity electric locomotives. The Madhepura-based locomotive project is a part of joint venture between Indian railways and Alstom of France. It was signed in 2015 and was the first major Foreign Direct Investment in the rail sector in India.
As many as 800 electric train engines with a maximum speed of 110km per hour will be manufactured from this factory over the next 11 years to meet the requirement of locomotive after the electrification of almost all railway routes in the country.
By 2019, five locomotives will be assembled at the Madhepura factory and the remaining 795 will be manufactured under the ‘Make in India’ initiative. In 2018-19, as per information from the Ministry of Railways, total five electric locomotive engines will be manufactured.