Siemens Mobility handed over the first of 1,200 electric freight locomotives for commercial operations under its €3-billion project with Indian Railways, and jointly opened the fleet’s first maintenance depot in Visakhapatnam.
Siemens Mobility, a global technology leader in electric locomotives, received the order from Indian Railways in January 2023, marking the single largest locomotive order in the company’s history and the single largest order in the history of Siemens India, says a release without mentioning where the loco is being manufactured.
Michael Peter, CEO of Siemens Mobility, said: “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,” he added.
The 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 can haul loads of up to 5,800 tonnes on defined gradients. With 9,000 hp, they are India’s most powerful six-axle electric freight locomotives, the 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 also 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 optimisation, helping to maximise fleet availability over the lifecycle, says a statement.
Published on May 5, 2026