The locomotives will be built at a new production plant at Madhepura in Bihar state under a joint venture in which IR will hold a 26% stake subject to a maximum investment of Rs 1bn.

All except the first five locomotives will be assembled in India under a technology transfer agreement. Delivery of the 120km/h 8.9MW units will take place between 2018 and 2028 and Alstom will maintain the fleet for a minimum of five years at purpose-built depots at Saharanpur in Uttar Pradesh and Nagpur in Maharashtra.

The IGBT-equipped locomotives will be used on India's future Dedicated Freight Corridors and will help IR to achieve its target of increasing average freight train speeds from 20-25km/h to 50-60km/h.

In addition to the locomotives for IR, the joint venture will have the freedom to manufacture locomotives for customers in other countries.

On November 9, IR sent a letter of acceptance to GE for a contract to establish a locomotive plant at Marhoura in Bihar which will supply at least 1000 locomotives over a 10-year period.

Contracts for both the Marhoura and Madhepura plants are due to be signed within 30 days and IR will provide land free-of-charge for both facilities.