Locomotive Factories in Bihar: In cold storage for years, two Railway projects to start soon.

Sources said the Railways is giving finishing touches to the formalities and awaiting the conclusion of the Bihar Assembly elections to make the announcement for locomotive-factory projects at Madhepura and Marhowra.

The deal is that the factories will provide Indian Railways with 800 electric locomotives of 12,000 horse power each and a mix of 1,000 diesel locomotives of 4,500 and 6,000 horsepower each with high level performance guarantee similar to international practices.

Years of red tape, indecision by bureaucrats and seven railway ministers later, the mammoth locomotive-factory projects of Indian Railways at Madhepura and Marhowra in Bihar are finally ready to see the light of day.

Together, the projects represent a foreign direct investment of Rs 3,300 crore in railways under the ‘Make in India’ banner — the biggest ever for the sector. American multinational General Electric and French giant Alstom have qualified as lowest bidders for the diesel and electric loco factories, respectively. The diesel loco factory will cost Rs 2,052 crore, while the electric one will cost Rs 1,293.57 crore.

Sources said the Railways is giving finishing touches to the formalities and awaiting the conclusion of the Bihar Assembly elections to make the announcement.