Patiala-based railway engine manufacturing unit has started pre-production exercise to manufacture LNG locomotives, which would be the first of its kind in the country.
“It has been decided that the country’s first LNG driven railway locomotive will be manufactured in this unit. We have already moved beyond the planning stage. We have invited tenders from international companies to provide us some equipment, which we will use while manufacturing the locomotive”, HK Kala, chief administrative officer, DMW, told TOI.
“If all goes according to plan, we will be able to manufacture first such engine in next 1-2 years that would be subsequently run on trial. Rationale to manufacture such a locomotive is to conserve fuel cost, increase efficiency and make locomotives more eco-friendly”, added Kale.
Pulling equal load with same speed, the LNG-based locomotive will cut per unit running cost by 40% compared to the running cost of a diesel engine, said a senior DMW engineer, who is supervising the project.
Source: timesofindia.indiatimes.com
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