Alstom Prima

During 1998, the French national railway operator, SNCF, placed a large order with train manufacturer Alstom for 120 electric locomotives, which was later on increased to 240, to perform both domestic and international freight services.

[2] The company decided to develop a new modular platform that would accommodate the requirements not only of the existing SNCF order, but to also comply with European interoperability standards, as well as a high degree of flexibility as to meet the divergent needs of different operators, potentially increasing the type's international appeal.

[2] In 2002, Alstom constructed a single Prima demonstrator for the purpose of investigating modular solutions for the configuration of onboard equipment, cab, traction and other systems.

The total contract, which is worth in excess of €3 billion, shall also involve the establishment of a new assembly plant at Madhepura, in Bihar, as well as two maintenance depots at Saharanpur, Uttar Pradesh and Nagpur, Maharashtra.

The Prima locomotive for Indian Railways will be 9 MW (12,000 hp) at the wheel rim and will run at a speed up to 120 km/h.

The aim of the project is to demonstrate the feasibility of a hybrid shunting locomotive in daily use; it is an initiative of the Eco Rail Innovation (ERI) and is being supported by a total of 19 companies.

It has a maximum axle load of 22.5 t, can handle a minimum curve radius of 60 meters, and has a starting tractive effort of 240 kN.

The hybrid locomotive is designed for an operation lifespan of up to 40 years and has been certified for a maximum speed of 100 km/h on mainline railways.

[11] In common operational practice, the locomotive initially runs on batteries alone; when not in active use, it is plugged in during breaks for recharging.

[16][17] Reportedly, by April 2017, a total of 19 Prima H3 hybrid locomotives are in service with Deutsche Bahn, Volkswagen, Audi, InfraLeuna, Mitteldeutsche Eisenbahn and Chemion Logistik.