In a significant achievement, the South Central Railway (SCR) has successfully commissioned a record number of 148 new three-phase electric locomotives during the last fiscal year. With higher horsepower, higher balancing speed, regenerative braking and head-on generation systems among others, these Locomotives provide an efficient way of powering the trains.
More Details:
South Central Railway commissioned a record 148 New Three Phase Electric locomotives during the last financial year, which is the highest-ever number in any year. This is 45% more when compared with the previous best of 102 three phase locomotives commissioned in 2022-23.
In a step towards “Mission Electrification”, South Central Railway has taken up electrification of rail routes across the Zone on the large scale and all the traffic running routes of its network are now electrified, except for the new lines which have been recently constructed (or) lines which are fully/partly under construction. As such, the increase in the number of 3-Phase Electric locomotives is a timely addition and helps in meeting the increased passenger and traffic demand with more efficient locomotives.
Features of new Locomotives:
- The Three Phase electric locomotives which are being added to the fleet of SCR have considerable advantages over other traction technologies.
- These Locos have high horsepower and can easily haul a full-length 22 LHB coach passenger train at 130 kmph without any hassle.
- These locomotives also offer a high balancing speed even for freight traffic and reduce the transit time for moving cargo, thereby improving the productivity of rolling stocks.
- The new locos are also fitted with Head-on-Generation systems (HOG) for powering the coaches.
- The HOG system drastically reduces the use of diesel power cars for powering the rakes and thus saves fuel bill.
- Regenerative braking is another green feature of 3-phase locomotives, which saves 12.4% of electrical energy apart from reducing carbon footprints.
- These can run at higher average speeds and can haul heavier trains.
Towards Mission Electrification:
- The improved availability of electric locomotives in the zone facilitated switching over of 46 pairs of coaching trains from diesel to electric traction in the FY 23-24, which will save Rs 204 crores per annum on the fuel bill of the railways and reduce carbon emission.
- Newly commissioned locomotives have also helped in a 12.7% increase in the share of GTKM (in millions) in electric traction (both freight and passenger combined) compared to FY 2022-23.
- With proceeding rapidly towards 100% electrification, the role of efficient electric locomotives becomes vital in powering the higher traffic demand.
GM Stated:
In this regard, the General Manager of SCR Shri Arun Kumar Jain complimented the Electric branch for the timely addition of new 3-phase locomotives to the SCR Locomotive fleet. He advised the team to maintain the same tempo to further enhance the addition of such locomotives in the ensuing year so as to continue to meet the increasing traffic demand from our customers.
As SCR advances towards achieving 100% electrification, the strategic deployment of efficient electric locomotives is set to play a vital role in accommodating higher traffic volumes while promoting sustainable and eco-friendly rail transport solutions.
Source: SCR – Press Release | Image Credit (representational): MoR
