Central Railway Loco Workshop, Parel in Mumbai has manufactured and turned out 5th Narrow Gauge locomotive for Northern Railway. The loco will be utilised for hauling passenger and goods trains on the Kalka- Shimla Railway Section of Ambala Division of Northern Railway.
The Kalka – Shimla Railway
☞It is is a 2 ft 6 inch (762 mm) gauge railway that runs from Kalka at the foothills of Himalayas to Shimla in the hills of Himachal Pradesh.
☞It runs through the Sub-Himalayan region and rises to a height of 1400 meters in a route length of 97kms. This is a UNESCO World Heritage Railway.
Parel Workshop and ZDM3 NG locos
☞This is the 5th locomotive out of the order placed for 12 Locomotives on Central Railways Parel Workshop.
☞The workshop has already manufactured and dispatched four such locos since November 2019.
☞ This is the 3rd Loco manufactured during lockdown period
The loco was manufactured while adhering to social distancing norms and limited resources due to the prevalent lockdown conditions.
Features of locomotive
☞These Locos provided with dual cab to drive from either end with good visibility of track ahead.
☞The locos are equipped with cold start to enable their working in severe winter conditions in Northern India.
☞The locos are also equipped with an ‘On demand cooling system’ to cool the engine as per requirement.
☞The air brakes are similar to Broad Gauge Locos.
☞Diesel engine performance parameters are exhibit on the electronic screen.
☞The locos also provided with safety features such as Automatic Emergency Braking, Vigilance Control Device and Electronic Speedometer with recorder.
☞Heavy-duty compressors installed to cater for future requirements of air brake trailing loads. Hand brakes provided on both Driver’s Cab.
