India’s lightest locomotive to roll for first time on Telangana tracks

HYDERABAD: The country’s most powerful but lightest 6000 horsepower diesel locomotive, the WDG-6G Diesel Locomotive built by General Electric (GE) in Pennsylvania, United States, is all set to roll on the tracks of Indian Railways. Telangana has been chosen as the place for the trial run. According to railway officials, the locomotive will be put on trials on the Vikarabad – Parli section under South Central Railways (SCR) and it will be the most powerful among those in use on Indian tracks. The WDG-6G is now ready to undergo the Confirmatory Oscillograph Car Run trials and join the fleet of locomotives of the Indian Railways.

“The WDG-6G Diesel Locomotive is based on GE’s evolution series and is fitted with a 16-cylinder V-16 evolution series engine, a four-stroke fully turbocharged and inter-cooled machine. It also has the latest technology and marks a new high in features related to the driver’s cab,” an SCR spokesperson said. The enhanced operator and cab amenities include the provision of heating, ventilating and air-conditioning along with the hot plate, heated windshields and display screens for the loco pilot’s convenience. Officials informed that the consolidated control architecture system has also been provided with features such as trip optimiser, loco-vision and cab signalling.

The auto engine start/stop is integrated with the auxiliary power unit giving a quality boost to the maintenance of the loco. Remote monitoring and diagnostics have also been enabled for continuous fleet health monitoring.


In a statement released by SCR, it has been mentioned that the safety standards of the loco are enhanced by cab frontal collision system designed to withstand tough crashes. Packaging of electrical hardware and equipment has been done to enable easy maintenance. The lightweight bogie frame also needs minimal maintenance.

This new breed of WDG-6G Diesel Locomotives is set to play a significant role in the plans of Indian Railways, with the carrying capacity of a freight train rake to significantly increase on account of the hauling strength of the locomotive. It will thereby enhance sectional capacities in terms of increased train services and result in operational efficiency in terms of fuel consumption.