Wabtec’s Marhowra plant supplies first Evolution Series engine for the African mining corridor

A diesel-electric locomotive manufactured at Wabtec’s facility in Marhowra, Bihar, will soon be deployed in West Africa’s Simandou iron ore mining corridor in Guinea. This is part of an ongoing supply agreement between Wabtec and Rio Tinto SimFer, one of the key developers of the Simandou project.

The Evolution Series ES43ACi locomotive – built for heavy-haul operations – was officially unveiled yesterday in the presence of representatives from Guinea, and India. It will operate along a 600-kilometre railway line under construction to transport iron ore from inland mining sites to a port on the Atlantic coast.

Wabtec India confirmed that the Marhowra plant assembled and configured the locomotive specifically for operating conditions in Guinea, including high ambient temperatures, steep gradients, and dusty environments.

The Marhowra plant, located in Bihar’s Saran district, was set up under a public-private partnership with Indian Railways. Operational since 2018, it is focused on assembling and maintaining freight locomotives. While most of its production to date has been for Indian Railways, the Simandou order is among the first global shipments.

Company engineers said that the exported unit includes a 4,500 horsepower diesel engine, electronic air brakes, and distributed power features to support long freight operations. The design is based on the same platform currently used by Indian Railways for freight transport.

The deployment of Indian-built locomotives for overseas mining projects signals a growing integration of Indian manufacturing in global industrial supply chains. For Bihar, the development brings visibility to the region’s contribution to specialised industrial production, though long-term impacts on local employment and ancillary development remain to be assessed.