New Delhi, Nov 6 (IANS): Railways Minister Mallikarjun Kharge Wednesday flagged off the first dual-cab 4500 HP freight diesel locomotive ‘Vijay’ from Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), Varanasi, an official said.

Railway Board chairman Arunendra Kumar said DLW has not only increased its production in large locomotives but also developed latest state-of-the-art technologies. Building of this dual-cab WDG4D High Horse Power freight locomotive is a major breakthrough not only for DLW but for Indian Railways and the country also.

Indian Railways has till now been working with the single-cab versions of diesel-electric freight locomotives. These locomotives have been very effective in the sub-100 kmph operations. However, with the increasing horsepower levels over the years, the locomotive lengths have increased and their profiles have become wider. The increase in length and envelope of the locomotive affect visibility and, therefore, there is need to introduce dual-cabs on freight locomotives as well, said an official release here.

The dual-cab freight WDG4D is a trailblazer. It is the first dual-cab diesel electric freight locomotive to be built by Indian Railways. The locomotive has been designed on a 21.7 metre platform to accommodate two cabs and this is about two metres longer than the single-cab version. The cabs have full width front view. Besides the obvious visibility advantages, the locomotive also has several features for crew comfort.

The locomotive has been designed to haul as much as the existing workhorse WDG4. The cost of the locomotive is approximately Rs.14.7 crore as compared to Rs.14.38 crore for the single-cab version.