Alstom secures €62 million maintenance contract for Indian Railways

Alstom, a global leader in smart and sustainable mobility, has announced a new contract with Indian Railways (IR) to provide comprehensive maintenance for its high-powered WAG-12B electric locomotives. The deal, valued at €62 million (₹6.52 billion), was awarded through Alstom's joint venture, Madhepura Electric Locomotive (MELPL), and targets operations at the Sabarmati locomotive depot in Gujarat.

This new agreement covers the maintenance of the remaining 300 electric locomotives yet to be delivered from the original 800-unit order Alstom secured in 2015. It complements existing operations at depots in Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh) and Nagpur (Maharashtra), where the first 500 locomotives are currently maintained using advanced technologies to ensure high availability.

Olivier Loison, Managing Director of Alstom India said, “Over the last decade we have worked collaboratively with the IR organisation in supporting their freight revolution vision. We are thrilled to be trusted for our remarkable maintenance capabilities and our reliability and availability track record.”

The WAG-12B stands as India's most powerful electric locomotive. Built under the 'Make-in-India' initiative, these 12,000-horsepower, 3-phase drive units are designed specifically for heavy freight operations on Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs).

Key features of the technology include the use of IGBT (Insulated-Gate Bipolar Transistor) technology for efficient and precise power control, and regenerative braking, which is incorporated to maximize energy conservation. Furthermore, the technology boasts significant domestic manufacturing, which provides a substantial boost to the local industry.

The name WAG-12B signifies its specifications: Wide-gauge, AC traction, Goods (freight). These locomotives are critical to increasing both the speed and capacity of India's freight network.

The contract is valid until February 2031 and covers a wide array of scheduled and unscheduled maintenance activities aimed at achieving rigorous availability and reliability targets.

The scope of work includes material supply & logistics to ensure a steady flow of necessary parts, depot services such as locomotive washing and infrastructure servicing, remote diagnostics utilising data for predictive failure prevention, and the deployment of prompt response teams (PRT) stationed at strategic locations with specialised tools and critical spares for fast, efficient support to minimise downtime.

Additionally, Alstom will continue its extensive skill development program. To date, the company has trained over 22,000 Indian Railways staff, a number set to grow under this new agreement.