Indian Railways Gets New Modern Diesel Locomotive; Check Out Cool Facts
In bright hues of red and yellow, this is Indian Railways’ new diesel locomotive – it’s the first in a set of 1,000 engines – that will power trains for many years from now.
Manufactured by GE Transportation, the new locomotive was unveiled in June this year. After two months of testing and validation, the locomotive has now been painted.
This particular locomotive has been made in the US, but eventually, GE will make the new engines in its factory in Bihar under the government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative. We take a look at the significance of its colour scheme and other salient facts:
The bright colours are said to hold a “special meaning”, with yellow representing freshness and red signifying energy. The new colour scheme for Indian Railways was completed using approximately 50 gallons of paint, says GE, adding that it will provide the locomotive protection in the harsh environments where Indian Railways operates.
Initially, 40 of the twin-cab 1,676 mm gauge locomotives will be exported from the US. This WDG4G-class locomotive for Indian Railways will arrive in India later this year.
Under the $2.5 billion deal, GE will make two types of locomotives for Indian Railways. This is a dual-cab locomotive with a 4,500-horsepower engine. The second locomotive, model ES57ACi, features a 6,000-horsepower engine. It is currently in the design phase and will begin production later this year.
GE will manufacture the ‘Make in India’ locomotives at its locomotive factory in Marhowra, Bihar. This factory will be used to manufacture the rest of the locomotives from the third quarter of 2018.
GE Transportation will supply 700 locomotives of 4,500 HP and 300 of 6,000 HP. GE is also building maintenance sheds at Roza in UP and Gandhidham in Gujarat.
