150 make-in-India locomotives to be exported to Guinea in 3 years: Railway Ministry

New Delhi, Jun 16 (PTI) Railway locomotive factory in Marhowrah, Bihar will supply 150 locomotives worth more than Rs 3,000 crore for SimFer’s Simandou iron ore project in Guinea, Africa, the Railway Ministry said on Monday.

"In this financial year, 37 locomotives will be exported, while 82 in the next financial year. The remaining 31 locomotives will be exported in the third year," said Dilip Kumar, Executive Director, Information & Publicity, Railway Board.

"All these locomotives will have air-conditioned cabins. Two locomotives together can carry a load of 100 wagons with maximum permissible speed," he added.

The ministry said that for manufacturing these locomotives, three types of tracks -- broad guage, standard guage and cape guage -- have been laid in Marhowrah factory premises and the project was secured via global competitive bidding, showcasing India’s manufacturing excellence on a world stage.

Talking about the features of the locomotives, Kumar said that they are built with best-in-class emission standards, fire detection systems, and ergonomic crew cabins with modern amenities like refrigerator, microwave, and waterless toilet system.

"They are fitted with DPWCS (Distributed Power Wireless Control System) for synchronized operations and superior freight handling. This positions Marhowrah factory as a global hub for locomotive exports, strengthening local employment and technological capability," he added.

The ministry emphasised that the export of locomotives will contribute to building infrastructure for Guinea’s largest iron ore project, deepening India-Africa economic cooperation.

"It is a shining example of Atmanirbhar Bharat powering global infrastructure through innovation and quality manufacturing in Marhowrah Factory of Bihar where 285 people are directly employed and 1,215 people are getting indirect employment," Kumar said.

"Other than these, more than 2,100 people are working for the joint venture across the country for services and other work," he added. PTI JP JP KVK KVK