ABB to launch traction motors manufacturing unit for Rail & Metro industry in India

Vadodara, India (Metro Rail Today): ABB India has announced that the company is in the process of constructing a dedicated unit for manufacturing 1,500 traction motors, that provide crucial propulsion systems to metro rail projects and other locomotives, in Vadodara, Gujarat, India.

“We already have three units within our campus in Vadodara. We will be adding two more units, one of which will be for manufacturing traction motors that are used in metros and other locomotives. The plant is under construction and we are installing the machinery,” said Sanjeev Sharma, country head and managing director at ABB during his visit to Vadodara on April 8, 2022.

“We will be setting up a fifth unit which will be a service unit. Over a period of time, we have developed a strong base in Gujarat. We have a lot of equipment installed in Hazira, Surat, and Jamnagar. Currently, these equipment have to be sent to Bengaluru for servicing. Now we are setting up a large facility here which will help us service equipment of our customers locally,” he added.

On April 8, ABB launched the expanded Digital Substation Products and Digital Systems factory at the Vadodara campus. However, he did not disclose the investments proposed for the campus in Vadodara which was set up way back in 1962. The expanded unit inaugurated here will meet the demand for digital substation products and digital solutions.

According to officials, ABB India’s largest manufacturing campus in Vadodara currently manufactures digital substation products, turbochargers, motors and generators.  The company has already manufactured traction motors for some of the metro projects in India, in the past.

“The work on the new facility, which will have a capacity to produce 1,500 traction motors annually, is currently in progress,” said Indraneel D, Location Manager, ABB India.

“We make the traction motors here. The traction converters come from Bengaluru. In 2012, we had supplied 2,000 traction motors to Delhi Metro. After that, there was a gap and now again we have started supplying these motors from Maneja that are part of locomotives being supplied by Bombardier,” he added.

ABB’s Electrification Business Area is a global leader in electrical products and solutions, operating in more than 100 countries, with over 200 manufacturing sites.