Indian Railways has achieved a remarkable milestone in locomotive manufacturing, producing a total of approximately 1,400 locomotives this year. This achievement has placed India ahead of the combined locomotive production of the USA and Europe, as stated by Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw.
Vaishnaw highlighted this significant accomplishment during a Lok Sabha session, stating, “Locomotive production has reached 1,400 units per year. Even when combined, the USA and Europe’s production does not surpass India’s output.”
These locomotives are being manufactured at various production units across the country, including Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) in Chittaranjan, Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) in Varanasi, and Patiala Locomotive Works (PLW) in Patiala.
In addition to locomotive production, the national transporter has also expanded its fleet by adding more than 200,000 wagons. Over the past decade, Indian Railways has built around 41,000 Linke-Hofmann-Busch (LHB) coaches. Minister Vaishnaw noted, “Previously, only 400-500 LHB coaches were manufactured annually, but now, the number has increased to 5,000-5,500 per year.”
Indian Railways has completed primary rail renewal work across 50,000 km of track. Furthermore, safety improvements have led to a dramatic reduction in welding failures and rail fractures. Welding failures, which totalled around 3,700 annually in 2013-14, have now been reduced by 90 per cent, with fewer than 250 reported each year. Similarly, rail fractures, which numbered 2,500 annually in 2013-14, have decreased to just 240 per year.
This progress highlights Indian Railways’ commitment to improving its infrastructure and safety standards, while also scaling up its manufacturing capabilities to meet growing demands.
