India’s state-owned engineering and manufacturing enterprise Bharat Heavy Electricals Limited (BHEL) has secured its first order from National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC) Limited to deliver HP electric locomotives for industrial applications.
Under the contract, BHEL will supply 6,000 HP electric locomotives to NTPC for use at material handling operations in Lara thermal power project site.
The order enabled BHEL to expand its offerings in the rolling stock business to new market segments such as power, steel, and cement, in addition to Indian Railways.
BHEL will manufacture the locomotives at its Jhansi facility in the state of Uttar Pradesh.
The locomotives will feature modern IGBT-based propulsion equipment, which is developed and delivered by the firm’s Bengaluru unit.
The company’s Bhopal facility will supply the traction motors for the locomotives.
The eco-friendly electric locomotives offered by BHEL will help replace diesel-electric locomotives, thereby helping to reduce emissions.
BHEL stated that ‘it has so far supplied more than 450 electric locomotives of various ratings to Indian Railways which are running successfully’.
In 2013, Indian Railways entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with BHEL for the establishment of a mainline electric multiple unit (MEMU) coach factory at Bhilwara in the state of Rajasthan.
The coach factory, which is being built to meet the demand for faster local and suburban trains in the country, will have the ability to manufacture 400 coaches a year.
