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Indian Railways has issued a Letter of Award (LoA) for manufacturing and maintenance of about 1,200 electric freight locomotives in the 9000 HP category to Siemens India. The estimated value of the order is Rs 260 billion (around $ 3.2 billion), excluding taxes and price variation. The high horse power (9000 HP) electric locomotives will be manufactured over a period of 11 years, while the maintenance period will be 35 years. An agreement will be signed with Siemens India within 30 days of the issue of LoA, with prototype locomotives to be delivered in the coming two years. Siemens, selected as technological partner, will manufacture these locomotives at the Dahod locomotive factory in Gujarat and maintain them at four depots at Vishakhapatnam, Raipur, Kharagpur, Pune, according to an official statement. Suitable economic drivers will ensure complete indigenisation of the manufacturing, which in turn will lead to development of ancillary manufacturing units. The project will also lead to development in the Dahod region and generate employment. These high horse power locomotives will be the future workhorses for freight operations of Indian Railways. These locomotives are planned for use primarily on the western dedicated freight corridor and on graded sections of railways for hauling container freight trains in double stack configuration of 4,500 tonnes at 75 kmph at 1-in-200 gradient, and improve the average speed of such trains to around 50-60 kmph over the existing 20-25 kmph. See also: Tirupati station upgrade in full swing to meet deadlineMumbai to host METRO RAIL CONFERENCE on 20th January 2023