DLW changed into BLW
DLW changed into BLW
Varanasi: The Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), a 59-year-old locomotive production unit of Indian Railways in Varanasi gets a new name – Banaras Locomotive Works (BLW) after a gazette notification on October 28, 2020.
According to the notification of the Ministry of Railways dated October 27, the central government decided to change the name of ‘Diesel Locomotive Works’, Varanasi to ‘Banaras Locomotive Works’. The change will come into force with immediate effect.
The DLW switched over from the production of diesel locomotives to electric locomotives in 2017 as part of efforts to completely electrify the broad-gauge network in the country. However, according to the spokesperson Ashok Kumar, it still produces the diesel locomotives, but only on the demand of non-railway customers.
The unit manufactured 310 locomotives (including 272 electric locos and 4conversion locos) in the financial year 2019-20 against the target of 306. It registered a record production of electric locomotives in July 2020. According to the records, a total of 31 electric locomotives were produced in the month of July.
DLW changed into BLW
In the recent past, it manufactured a 6000 HorsePower (HP) electric engine in a week in May this year after a 48-day shutdown of the workshops due to the Covid-19 pandemic. It was the first electric engine produced by the unit in the 2020-21 financial year. And since then the unit has produced 127 electric rail engines so far in this financial year.
The Prime Minister Narendra Modi in February 2019 had flagged off a diesel-to-electric converted locomotive, the first of its kind in the world. The 10,000 HP locomotive was manufactured by combining two old diesel engines to form a high horsepower electric locomotive.
Later, the production unit manufactured a 12,000-HP electric locomotive by combining two diesel locos, a first of its kind in the world, in January this year. This freight engine was designed for 105-km/hour speed and weighs 252 tons. It is equipped with a three-phase induction motor, four power converters and regenerative as well as pneumatic braking system. It achieved this challenging task with the help of engineers from Research Designs and Standards Organisation and Chiitaranjan Locomotive Works.
DLW changed into BLW
The first President of India Dr. Rajendra Prasad had laid the foundation stone of the unit on April 23, 1956. According to the records, the first Broad Gauge Locomotive was released by Lal Bahadur Shastri in January 1964 before becoming the Prime Minister. For the first time the unit exported locomotives to Tanzania in January 1976, while it rolled out the 1000th locomotive in March 1977.
It received the International Railway Industry Standard (IRIS) certification from UNIFE, an association of Europe’s rail supply companies active in the design, manufacture, maintenance and refurbishment of rail transport systems, subsystems and related equipment in February this year. The IRIS is an internationally recognised management system standard specific to the railway industry. It became the first locomotive manufacturing unit in the country to get such a certification based on ISO/TS 22163:2017 for rolling stock design, development and manufacture of locomotives.
