Government okays setting up of railway locomotive factories in Bihar

The government Thursday approved a proposal to set up two greenfield electric and diesel locomotive factories in Bihar at an estimated investment of Rs.20 billion (Rs.2,000 crore).The factories will be set up in Madhepura and Saran districts as a joint venture between Indian Railways and an international manufacturer.

The companies short-listed for the joint venture include Alstom of France, Germany’s Bombardier and Siemens, General Electric’s Indian subsidiary and EMD of the US.

The railways ministry will procure 800 electric locomotives of 12,000-horse power (HP) each and 1,000 diesel locomotives of 4,500/6,000 HP each from these factories over a period of 10 years.

These locomotives will also be maintained by the joint venture company over the next 26 years.link