Union Home and Cooperation Minister Amit Shah on Sunday inaugurated a WAG-12 locomotive maintenance shed at Sabarmati and flagged off a high-capacity electric locomotive as part of railway projects worth more than Rs 1,542 crore in Gujarat.
Shah inspected the newly developed maintenance facility before dedicating it to the nation. Gujarat Chief Minister Bhupendra Patel and Deputy Chief Minister Harsh Sanghavi were also present at the programme.
The Rs 700-crore shed can house and maintain up to 300 WAG-12 HHP electric locomotives, each with around 12,000 HP capacity, for hauling heavy and long freight trains. Railway authorities have already homed 154 locomotives there and plan to raise the fleet to 300 by 2027-28.
Shah also flagged off a WAG-12 locomotive from Sabarmati to support freight operations in the Ahmedabad Division. The locomotives will increase freight capacity and improve electric traction availability.
The programme also launched the country’s first LNG-powered train from Sabarmati railway station. The train uses a diesel-LNG dual-fuel system, with two 1,400 HP Driving Power Cars converted to LNG. The converted cars have completed over 2,000 km of trials.
The package includes Kavach protection across 404 km at Rs 411 crore and automatic block signalling across 122.57 km at Rs 118.83 crore.
The projects also include doubling of the 21-km Sabarmati-Sarkhej railway section at an estimated cost of Rs 313.27 crore, with completion targeted by March 2028.
The work will cover Sabarmati, Gandhigram, Vastrapur and Sarkhej stations, bridges, underbridges and level crossings.
The projects focus on safety, signalling, freight capacity, expansion and alternative fuels. Shah is also attending a programme marking Acharya Padmasagar Surishwarji Maharaj’s 92nd birth anniversary.
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