In line with Make in India Initiative, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on April 20 laid the foundation stone for Upgradation of Dahod Workshop to make it a Railways locomotives production unit.
The manufacturing unit will make 9,000 HP (Horse Power) Electric Locomotives. The move is in accordance with the government’s vision of promoting self reliance in railway manufacturing and technology upgradation of railways.
Prime Minister Narendra Modi addressing the ceremony said, “The manufacturing of 9000 HP Electric Locomotives at the Production Unit in Dahod will not only generate employment but also put Dahod on the global map.”
The cost of the project is around Rs. 20,000 crore.
Dahod Railway Manufacturing Unit
Dahod workshop, established in 1926 for periodic overhaul of steam locomotives, will be upgraded to electric locomotive manufacturing unit with infrastructural improvements. It will provide direct employment to 3,500 people and indirect employment to around 7,000 people.
“Dahod is going to be a big part of Make in India with the investment of ₹20,000 crore employing thousands of our tribal youth,” PM Modi said.
Dahod unit will be Gujarat’s first and India’s fourth railway manufacturing unit. It will manufacture 1,200 locomotives that can run at a speed of 120 kmph. At the unit, standard gauge locomotives will be manufactured for international market and broad gauge locomotives for Indian Railways. The first locomotive is expected to turn out from the factory in the first quarter of 2024.
Relevance of the Manufacturing unit
The locomotives will be manufactured using green energy and will have a green manufacturing tag. As the locomotives that are to be produced have improved average speed and more freight carrying capacity, the train tracks will get decongested and the logistics cost will be reduced. National Rail Plan envisions increasing the modal share of the Railways in freight to 45%.
Further the locomotives manufactured at Dahod will be equipped with the latest KAVACH (Automatic Train Protection System) technology, improving the safety of train travel in India. KAVACH prevents trains from passing the signal at Danger (Red) and avoids a collision by automatically activating the train braking system. In addition, it prevents collision between two Locomotives equipped with a functional KAVACH system.
Railway ministry breaks new grounds
‘One Station One Product’ Scheme is being expanded in order to make local level products available in the market through railway stations. Under the scheme, a total of 1,000 stations will be included.
As part of the National Rail Plan, Vision 2024 has been launched for accelerated implementation of certain critical projects by 2024 such as 100% electrification, multi-tracking of congested routes, upgradation of speed to 160 kmph on Delhi-Howrah and Delhi-Mumbai routes, upgradation of speed to 130 kmph on all other Golden Quadrilateral-Golden Diagonal (GQ/GD) routes and elimination of all Level Crossings on all GQ/GD route.
Government had also introduced Vistadome coaches with large glass windows to redefine the travel experience of passengers and thus boost tourism. As of 11 February 2022, 45 trains are being operated with Vistadome coaches.
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