Siemens Mobility has officially handed over the first units of its electric freight locomotives to Indian Railways for commercial operations. The delivery marks the start of a massive fleet expansion under a contract worth roughly Rs 27,000 crore that the German company secured in early 2023.
The deal, signed in January last year, is for 1,200 high-capacity freight locomotives, the biggest such order Siemens has received globally. The company announced that it has opened a dedicated maintenance depot in Visakhapatnam.
Siemens freight locomotives: Built for heavy hauling
The locomotives, which Siemens calls the D9 series, are built to handle the demanding conditions of India’s freight corridors, the company stated. Each unit packs 9,000 horsepower and can pull loads of nearly 6,000 tonnes at speeds up to 120 km/h.
What sets these apart is their compliance with European safety and performance standards, specifically EN 14363, a benchmark Indian Railways hasn’t previously required for its rolling stock. The locomotives also come fitted with digital monitoring systems that track performance in real time and flag maintenance needs before breakdowns occur, as per the company’s announcement.
Siemens has embedded its Railigent X platform into the fleet, which collects operational data to predict component failures and schedule repairs. The company added that the idea is to keep more locomotives running at any given time, reducing the downtime that often plagues ageing fleets.
Siemens’ 35-year commitment
The company further mentioned that it will be maintaining the entire fleet for 35 years. Four depots will handle servicing besides Visakhapatnam; facilities are planned in Raipur, Kharagpur and Pune.
The company will manage everything from spare parts inventory to maintenance schedules and performance documentation.
India’s freight push
The timing aligns with the government’s broader strategy to shift more cargo from roads to railways. Currently, trains carry about 27% of India’s freight. The target is to push that to somewhere between 40% and 45% over the next few years, a move officials say would ease highway congestion and cut emissions.
Indian Railways moves goods worth billions of rupees daily, but its freight infrastructure has struggled to keep pace with demand. Faster, more reliable locomotives are seen as critical to changing that equation, particularly as e-commerce and industrial logistics grow more time-sensitive.
The railway network, which serves 24 million passengers a day across 22,000 trains, is now almost fully electrified. This locomotive contract, though, is its largest India engagement by far.