20 Years Of The WAP7: How This Star Locomotive Of Indian Railways Was Brought Back From Certain Death

On 10 May 2000, a 6,000 hp, passenger locomotive of the WAP7 Class, was flagged off by the then Union Minister for Railways. This locomotive had been indigenously adapted from an imported freight locomotive, WAG9.

Today, this locomotive is a flagship passenger locomotive and can also serve on high speed premium freight trains, an emerging category of business by itself.

As part of the core team which worked on its design, the author reminisces the challenges and shares here the exhilarating success of this locomotive.

Indian Railways signed a contract in July 1993 for the transfer of technology for a 4 MW high-speed, passenger, and 4.5 MW freight locomotive, with the then M/s ABB (Transportation Division), Switzerland.

The passenger locomotive (WAP5) was meant to be capable of speed of 160/200 kmph with about 5,400 hp on wheels, and the freight one (WAG9) of speed of 110 kmph with 6,000 hp on wheels.

The contract mandated the supply of some fully assembled locos and some locomotives in the CKD/SKD form along with the necessary technology transfer to manufacture them at the Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW), Chittaranjan, West Bengal.

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