At Alstom, it is our mission to accompany the transition towards sustainable transport systems.

Alain SPOHR, Managing Director - India & South Asia, Alstom

Alstom has been investing heavily in the country to deliver world class rolling stock, research & development and components to not only serve the domestic market, but also rest of the world. Alstom is also executing electrification, signaling and telecommunications system for over 343 km along the Eastern phase of the ambitious Dedicated Freight Corridor which is a key step in transforming the freight services in the country. “Coradia iLint is the world's first hydrogen powered train developed by Alstom, and this could be a technology that India can look forward to adapting in the coming years,” states Alain SPOHR, Managing Director - India & South Asia, Alstom. In an exclusive interview with Construction Times, Spohr discusses fast changing technology trends in the railway and metro sector. Excerpts from the interview… 

Alstom joined hands with Indian Railways in 2015 to transform the heavy-duty freight transportation landscape. How do you assess the success of the partnership so far?

As part of the largest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) project in the Railway sector, Ministry of Railways (Indian Railways) and Alstom came together in 2015 to transform the heavy freight transportation landscape of the country. An agreement worth Euro 3.5 billion was signed to manufacture 800,12000 HP fully electric double-section locomotives and its associated maintenance over a period of 13 years. This joint venture is one of the strongest realizations of Make-in-India vision in the railways sector with a strong impetus on indigenous manufacturing with over 87% localization.

This year, Alstom has started deliveries of these WAG-12 electric locomotives to Indian Railways, which are all set to revolutionize freight logistics in the country. Certified by Ministry of Railways and Commissioner of Railway Safety (RDSO), these are the only freight locomotives to be approved to run at speeds of 120 kmph. So far, we have delivered 50 such electric locomotives to Indian Railways and have already clocked close to 2 million kilometers till date. As per plan, we will deliver 75 units in FY 20-21 and starting next fiscal, we will be delivering 100 units annually.

Entry of WAG 12 (e-Loco) will allow faster and safer movement of heavier freight trains capable of hauling 6,000 tonnes. Planned to be deployed for operations on Dedicated Freight Corridors (DFCs), these e-Locos will increase the average speed of freight trains in India by two folds. Equipped with Insulated Gate Bipolar Transistors (IGBT) based propulsion technology, it would lead to considerable savings in energy consumption due to the use of regenerative braking. Additionally, this move will not only bring down operational costs, but also reduce the congestion faced by Indian Railways.

Designed at Alstom's Engineering Centre in Bengaluru, all e-Locos are being manufactured at India's largest integrated Greenfield manufacturing facility at Madhepura in Bihar. Spread across 250 acres, with a production capacity of 120 locomotives per annum, this industrial site is built to international standards of safety and quality. This project will create more than 10,000 direct and indirect jobs in the country - primarily in the states of Bihar, Uttar Pradesh and Maharashtra. It is also defined by its highly localized supplier base.

As part of this project, two maintenance depots have been setup at Saharanpur (Uttar Pradesh state) and Nagpur (Maharashtra state). Work is underway for the construction of the maintenance depot in Nagpur. Saharanpur depot is fully functional. Equipped with ultramodern features, these depots will have a substantial role in maintaining India's most advanced freight locomotives at significantly lower costs. Saharanpur depot also has a 'Training Centre' equipped with a loco simulator and smart classrooms being used for skill development of railway employees. Till date, more than 500 loco pilots from Indian Railways have been trained and going forward, 500 will be trained annually.

Globally, Alstom is associated with almost every prominent railway organization and Indian Railways is one of the largest railway entities in the world. The joint venture combines innovation with responsibility and together we are committed to deliver safe, reliable and efficient solutions. We are excited to be part of this revolutionary journey of Indian Railways.

Alstom India has been a front runner in sustainable mobility solutions. How this philosophy or vision of sustainable mobility has reflected in your product design (rolling stock) and other solutions?

With rapidly evolving demographics and consequent massive urbanization, transportation systems must be redesigned to meet the increasing demand for mobility while preserving the environment. Sustainability is going to be the biggest gamechanger going forward. At Alstom, it is our mission to accompany the transition towards sustainable transport systems by designing and delivering innovative and environment-friendly solutions. Alstom's latest metro trains contain an average of 28% of recycled materials.

Alstom is the leader in zero-emission mobility and the only manufacturer able to offer its customers the full range of emission-free drives from electric through to battery and hydrogen fuel cells. At Alstom, the objective is to reduce the energy consumption of our solutions by 25% by 2025 (compared to 2014). As of March 2020, we have achieved a reduction of 20% in energy consumption. We are leading the way towards a sustainable future with over 95% recyclable trains. This is possible with our eco-design approach, that aims to incorporate environmental considerations during the design phase of a product/service, or building, with the primary goal of limiting the lifetime environmental impact. Alstom integrates eco-design into its product R&D strategy, to effectively measure and limit the environmental impact at each lifecycle stage. Today, 25% of our solutions are classified as eco-designed. Our aim is to reach 100% eco-design across all newly developed solutions by, 2025.

Earlier this year, we started delivering the Prima T8 electric locomotive (e-Loco) of 12,000 horsepower, to the Indian Railways. Aligned with Alstom's sustainability principles, our e-Locos are designed to be energy efficient and reduce emission. These locomotives will not only enable safer and timely movement of freight across the country but also reduce the environmental impact, as compared to traditional fuel trains.

To address the increased focus on electric vehicles, our 100 percent electric new mobility solution, Aptis has been designed to ensure a clean and efficient transport system for cities. Aptis is designed with advanced roof-mounted electric batteries that can be charged overnight to function a whole day tirelessly.

Our signaling solutions specifically in India allow for lower energy costs and a reduction of consumption of up to 30%. Through newly built solutions and upgrading existing solutions, we can help ease city congestion and make collective transportation more lucrative.

How Alstom India has been able to leverage the potential of digital platforms?

Alstom has built one of the world's largest Operations Control Centre (OCC) in Allahabad for the DFC project. This OCC spread across 4.20 acres in Prayagraj (Uttar Pradesh), applauded by the World Bank, the entire freight traffic from Kolkata to Ludhiana can be viewed and controlled and monitored through a 90-meter digital wall. Built on Alstom's ICONIS (Integrated Control and Information System) signaling platform, it enables seamless supervision and control offering 'Integrated Train Management System (TMS) for the first time in India for mainlines. The center will have officials monitoring operations on a 24×7 basis to manage the automated goods trains running system. The ICONIS allows network operators to access the wayside and vehicle cameras, intercoms, public address systems, and other equipment. The system also enables operators to use identical procedures and respond to incidents with operational support and live information. This allows OCC to have a strong oversight of the security and safety of freight movement. With its specialist analytics modules, the ICONIS also has deployed sensors that collect image and sound footage, now making it possible to track individuals behaving suspiciously, detect tunnel intrusion, spot abandoned articles, and identify irregular sounds such as gunshots, explosions, or breaking glass.

Integrating technology with railway operations results in optimization of operations and ensures safety of the fleet. Fleet management can be easily enhanced with the right use of data. It improves traffic management procedures to enable higher train availability. The OCC comes with optimal network-wide scheduling and planning tools that determine train graphs and rolling stock/crew management. This ultimately improves efficiency through asset utilization.

Could you brief us on the outlook of the sector and your road map for the next five years?

India is at the cusp of transformation in mainline and urban mobility. In both segments, there are a lot of technological advancements that Alstom is bringing to India as well as developing indigenously. In mainline, to improve passenger experience, the government has created new opportunities to collaborate with corporates to run 151 passenger trains on 140 pairs of routes divided into 12 clusters. This is an innovative effort to attract private funds to expand and modernize the country's rail network and attendant infrastructure. This is a gamechanger as it paves the way for bringing in modern rolling stock and upgraded traveling experience that has been lacking so far.

With the dedicated freight corridors being reaching completion and we are excited about the future as it promises immense potential. Sustainable mobility will play a key role in helping the government and businesses kickstart economic revival with renewed energy.

Technology-wise, as well, Alstom can strengthen Indian railways' ambitions. The Indian Railways is making several coordinated moves to become more sustainable. It is experimenting with hydrogen fuel-cell-
based trains as well as electrifying its tracks—especially the dedicated freight corridors—to address its energy requirements, improve its operating ratio and reduce its environmental impact.

When it comes to hydrogen cell powered trains, Alstom is the only company in the world to have a product on tracks and not merely on the drawing board. For innovation in pursuit of cleaner and more efficient fuel, Coradia iLint, is the answer. It is the world's first hydrogen powered train developed by Alstom. It emits only steam and condensed water from its exhausts. In 2018, the Coradia iLint entered commercial service in  Germany.

We are also following a robust strategy to increase its headcount in India because we see a lot of room for growth in and from India. We are investing a lot in strengthening our engineering R&D hub in Bengaluru. It is the largest engineering hub outside France and plays a critical role in our global efforts to develop futuristic operations.

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