Indian Railways has decided to start a new joint venture company with a private sector player to start a new locomotive factory near Marhowra in Bihar in near future. Indian Railways plans to buy at least one-third of its requirement of diesel locomotives from this new joint venture unit. This new joint venture unit controlled by a private sector firm will produce only diesel locomotives and other spares related to diesel locomotive technology and needs of Indian Railways.
The RFQ guarantees that the railways will buy atleast 100 locomotives a year for the next seven to 10 years from the Marhowra facility. It also expects to acquire another 250 diesel locomotives a year from the state-owned Diesel Locomotive Works in Varanasi and other locomotive works and IR factories all across India.
