Siemens Secures Railways’ Electric Loco. Contract with 13,177 Cr. Bid
Siemens Ltd., the Indian subsidiary of Germany’s Siemens AG, has secured Indian Railways’ electric locomotive manufacturing contract with a bid of Rs. 13,177 crore.
Siemens Scope of Work Under the Indian Railways Loco Contract
Scope of work for Siemens under Indian Railways’ contract entails the manufacturing of 1,200 6-axle Co-Co electric locomotives, each of 9,000 horsepower, in a span of 11 years, starting from 2023-24 till 2033-34.
Siemens is required to supply 5 locomotives in the first year, and 35 locomotives in the following year. In the third and fourth year, the company will supply up to 80 locomotives annually. This number will be increased to 100 locomotives per year in the 5th and 6th years, after which Siemens is required to supply 160 electric locomotives to the Indian Railways per annum for the remaining years.
Siemen’s Electric Locos to be Built at Dahod, Gujarat
Dahod, in the state of Gujarat, houses a Western Railways workshop which was established in 1926. In April 2022, the foundation stone for an electric locomotive manufacturing unit was laid by the Indian Prime Minister in Dahod. This production unit will be producing the aforementioned 1,200 locomotives.
The locomotives produced at this unit will be able to haul a load of up to 4,500 tonnes at a speed of about 75 Kmph. This will be an upgrade to the 6,000 horsepower electric locomotives already in use by the Indian Railways.
Siemens’ Bid Substantially Lower than Estimated Cost of Indian Railways
Indian Railways tender for the Dahod production unit had pegged the estimated cost at about Rs. 20,000 for the project. With a bid of Rs. 10.98 crore per locomotive, or about Rs. 13,177 crore in total, Siemen’s bid is significantly lower than the cost estimate for the project.
The L2 bidder for this project was Alstom, which had quoted Rs. 19.46 crore per locomotive, or Rs. 23,362 crore for manufacturing 1,200 electric locomotives for the project.
About Siemens Ltd.: Siemens Ltd. is the Indian flagship company of Siemens AG. The company has a diverse portfolio in India including infrastructure, clean energy generation, oil and gas applications, rail electrification and automation, and production of rolling stock. The company reported a revenue of Rs. 17,183 crore as revenue for the financial year ended 31st March 2022.
