Big achievement for Indian Railways! Two railway locomotives, manufactured under Modi government’s ambitious ‘Make in India’ programme, are being exported to Sri Lanka. The locomotives were manufactured by the Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), which is located in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. Earlier, Sri Lanka Railways ordered 10 such rail locomotives of 3000 HP broad gauge from DLW. Out of these 10, two locomotives have been sent to Sri Lanka during the end of February 2019. The locomotives are being sent in a rail engine trailer via road to Chennai Port in Tamil Nadu. From there, they will be taken to Sri Lanka. Also, one diesel rail engine was sent to Sri Lanka in the month of October, last year.
Other than hotel load arrangement, the rail engine has been provided with several modern features. The engine has also been equipped with other modern equipment like hi-tech modern microprocessor control system, TFT monitor (display unit), roof mounted DBR etc. The rest of the 7 rail engines are still in the developing phase and will be handed over to Sri Lanka in the coming days.
Meanwhile, a world-class DEMU train funded by India was flagged off by Sri Lankan President Maithripala Sirisena at the Colombo Fort main railway station in the month of January 2019. The first set of DEMU was exported by Indian Railways from the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai to Sri Lanka, last year. The DEMU has many modern features such as cushioned bench in economy class, rotatable seats in AC chair car class, individual cushioned seats along with backrest able to recline facility in business class, modular toilets with air-assisted flushing, GPS based passenger information LCD display, oscillating-type fans that cover 360 degree, LED lighting etc.
In the month of March 2017, a contract was signed between Indian and Sri Lanka for the supply of 6 DEMUs and 10 locomotives to the Sri Lanka Railways. The contract is worth $100 million, according to the Indian High Commission.
Source: financialexpress.com