On April 20, PM Modi will lay the foundation stone for a Rs 20,000 crore mega project in Dahod, Gujarat, to manufacture 9,000 HP electric locomotives, as part of the government’s ‘Make in India’ and ‘Make for World’ initiatives.
With infrastructural enhancements, the Dahod workshop, which was founded in 1926 for a periodic overhaul of steam locomotives and is located on the Mumbai-Delhi main rail route, would be upgraded to an electric locomotive production operation.
PM Modi’s ambitious project plans to employ over 10,000 workers
According to Indian Railways, the ambition of PM Modi’s project is planned to employ over 10,000 workers directly and indirectly.
The bidding process for asking key rolling stock players to join in the multi-billion-dollar project is set to begin soon.
Over the following several years, the proposed production plant is expected to produce 1,200 electric locos, each with 9,000 horsepower (HP).
According to a senior Railway Ministry official, the Dahod factory will produce broad gauge electric locomotives for the railways and standard gauge electric locomotives for the export market.
Locos would be built using green energy, an environmentally friendly approach in line with the railways’ net-zero goal.
High-horsepower locomotives would increase train hauling capacity and speed, decongesting congested tracks and lowering logistic costs.
The initiative would aid in the upgrading of existing manpower’s technical abilities under the supervision of technology partners.
In the last eight years, the number of electric locos has increased dramatically to 573 every year. In the years 2021-22, the railways inducted a total of 1,110 electric locomotives, a new high.
PM Modi will also lay the foundation stone for a number of state government projects totalling over Rs 550 crore, including water supply projects worth around Rs 300 crore, Dahod Smart City projects costing around Rs 175 crore, and Dudhimati river project work.
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