Comments
The first phase of the Indian Railways' DMU (diesel multiple unit) factory at Haldia is likely to be commissioned in October/November this year, according to South Eastern Railway.
The foundation stone for the project was laid by the then Railway Minister, Ms Mamta Banerjee, in February last year and Rail Vikas Nigam Ltd was entrusted with the job of first phase implementation in July and the work started in August last year.
Estimated cost
In the first phase, estimated to cost a little more than Rs 110 crore against the original estimate of Rs 70 crore or so, the shells will be supplied for finishing to Haldia factory by the Integral Coach Factory, Perambur, currently, the sole manufacturer of DMU rakes for the Indian Railways.
In the first phase, the Haldia factory will produce one rake consisting of eight coaches every month.
On completion of the second phase, a total of 50 rakes will be produced annually.
The second phase work, estimated to cost Rs 179 crore, is to be implemented through the PPP (public-private partnership) mode.
Demand for rakes
The DMU rakes are in demand in large parts of the country, particularly in the areas such as North-East, North Bihar, and several other places where the electrification of tracks has not made much headway for whatever reasons.
Sri Lanka has placed orders for DMU rakes with ICF, Perambur, it is learnt.
Mr A.K. Verma, General Manager, SER, has visited the site of the Haldia factory and inspected the progress of work.
The factory will be spread over 42.5 acres adjacent to the present Haldia railway station.
“It, being a railway land, the land acquisition posed no a problem,” observed SER sources.
“The frontage to the factory will have huge lush green on environmental consideration, as suggsted by the GM”.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.