Wabtec Corporation and Indian Railways on July 25 celebrated the launch of locomotive service operations at the Gooty Maintenance Shed in southern India’s Andhra Pradesh. The shed complements the manufacturer’s existing locomotive maintenance operations in Roza, to the north, and Gandhidham, to the west.
The shed opening also marks a new service model in India: leveraging existing Indian Railways infrastructure and staff, according to Wabtec.
The manufacturer is contracted for the next three years to maintain an Indian Railways fleet of up to 250 Wabtec locomotives from Gooty. Wabtec said it will support Evolution Series locomotives from series 501 to 750 (4,500 HP and 6,000 HP) providing regular maintenance, supervision, material and warehouse management, shed control, logistics, and remote diagnostics. The fleet will be deployed to haul such commodities as coal, cement, food-grains, fertilizers, iron ore, and containers along the South Central Railway, Central Railways, and East Coastal Railways.
Wabtec reported that as one of the largest rail equipment manufacturers in India, having supplied more than 600 locomotives to Indian Railways and with an installed base of subsystems in more than 18,000 LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) passenger railcars and locomotives. The company currently employs 3,000 people in India. In May, it inaugurated its new manufacturing campus in Rohtak, an investment of $18 million (Rs. 150 crore).
“The Gooty shed represents a unique partnership where Indian Railways provides the infrastructure and manpower, while Wabtec leads the technical supervision to ensure the fleet meets the key performance metrics including availability, reliability and fuel efficiency,” said Rajneesh Sah, Senior Director, Freight Services for Wabtec. “We are focused on implementing maintenance practices that drive faster turnaround for the locomotive fleet.”
“The Gooty Maintenance Shed represents a critical milestone in our partnership with Indian Railways and a commitment to excellence, delivering high availability, reliability, and setting new quality standards for locomotive service operations in India,” added Sandeep Selot, Managing Director and Vice President of Wabtec Freight Business.
