Siemens hands over electric freight locomotives to Indian Railways
The state-of-the-art D9 locomotives are Indian Railways’ first rolling stock successfully tested to the European standard EN 14363 and are designed for freight operations across the network at speeds of up to 120 km/h.
Siemens Mobility has officially handed over the first of 1,200 electric freight locomotives for commercial operations under its EUR 3 billion project with Indian Railways and jointly opened the fleet’s first maintenance depot in Visakhapatnam, India.
The company had received the order from Indian Railways in January 2023, Siemens said in a press release.
“The handover of the first D9 locomotives and the opening of the new maintenance depot in Visakhapatnam are major milestones in this landmark project and our long-term partnership with Indian Railways,” said Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens Mobility. “With our leading technology, we are supporting the country’s goal of shifting more freight to rail, boosting logistics efficiency, and significantly reducing CO₂ emissions for decades to come. Together, we are bringing one of the world’s most powerful and energy-efficient freight locomotives into service — manufactured and maintained in India.”
The state-of-the-art D9 locomotives are Indian Railways’ first rolling stock successfully tested to the European standard EN 14363 and are designed for freight operations across the network at speeds of up to 120 km/h. During normal operation, the locomotive with axle load of 22.5 tonnes shall haul loads of up to 5,800 tonnes on the defined gradients. With 9,000 hp, they are India’s most powerful six-axle electric freight locomotives.
They also feature advanced digital systems such as Railigent X for predictive maintenance and data-driven performance optimization, and integrate enhanced safety for energy-efficient, high-reliability operations across the Indian Railways network, the press release said.
The project is delivered under a lifecycle partnership model covering design, manufacturing, commissioning and 35 years of full-service maintenance. Maintenance will be provided through a network of four depot locations – Visakhapatnam, Raipur, Kharagpur and Pune. Siemens Mobility will provide full service for the new D9 locomotive fleet, including spare parts and materials management, maintenance planning, as well as documentation and reporting.
Siemens Mobility will also use digital services, enabled by Railigent X, to support condition monitoring, predictive maintenance and data-driven performance optimization, helping to maximize fleet availability over the lifecycle.