Electric Loco Shed, Asansol is a
motive power depot
The motive power depot (MPD) or locomotive depot, or traction maintenance depot (TMD), is the place where locomotives are usually housed, repaired and maintained when not being used. They were originally known as "running sheds", "engine she ...
performing locomotive maintenance and repair facility for
electric locomotive
An electric locomotive is a locomotive powered by electricity from overhead lines, a third rail or on-board energy storage such as a battery or a supercapacitor. Locomotives with on-board fuelled prime movers, such as diesel engines or gas ...
s of the
Indian Railways
Indian Railways (IR) is a statutory body under the ownership of Ministry of Railways, Government of India that operates India's national railway system. It manages the fourth largest national railway system in the world by size, with a tot ...
, located at
Asansol
Asansol is a (Tier-II) metropolitan city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest and most populated city of West Bengal and the 33rd largest urban agglomeration in India. Asansol is the district headquarters of Paschim Bar ...
of the
Eastern Railway zone in
West Bengal
West Bengal (, Bengali: ''Poshchim Bongo'', , abbr. WB) is a state in the eastern portion of India. It is situated along the Bay of Bengal, along with a population of over 91 million inhabitants within an area of . West Bengal is the fourt ...
, India. It is one of the two electric locomotive sheds of the Eastern Railway, the others being at
Howrah (HWH). As of November,2022, there are 142 locomotives in the shed.
History
Steam locomotive sheds used to exist at Asansol (Howrah) until the late 1970s. After Eastern Railway set a deadline to eliminate all steam locomotive operations by 1990, a push was given towards establishing electric locomotion as the primary motive power, and the Steam locomotive sheds was decommissioned. To meet the needs of exponentially increasing rail traffic on the new continuous broad-gauge lines from kolkata to rest of India with the completion of gauge conversion, the Asansol was selected by Indian railways for a new electric locomotive shed.
Asansol shed was started in May 1959 by converting a small portion of steam shed with a holding of 45 locos. The imported
WAM-1
The Indian locomotive class WAM-1 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in late 1950s by the ''Groupement 50Hz'' ( a consortium of European locomotive manufacturers) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad ...
locomotives were based in this shed after commissioning. With the addition of
WAM-2/3 locos. imported from Japan, the need for the expansion of this shed was felt and it was expanded to home 80 locos. In the year 1969 by taking some more portion of the steam shed 12 imported mixed locos. from Japan (10 WAM-2 + 2 WAM-3) and 45
WAG-2 locos. were added. To give marginal relief to the congestion, the 45 WAG-2s were transferred to MGS shed.
With the introduction of EMU rakes from BHEL and ICF in Calcutta suburban section, 25 WAM-2 locos, which were working in push-pull operation, were converted to main line operation. The original WAM-1/2 locos, having ignitrons for AC-to-DC conversion, were converted to silicon rectifier system in the years 1968 to 1970. CLW started production and the first batch of 10
WAG-4 locos were commissioned and based at Asansol shed in 1970. In 1971, CLW started manufacturing
WAM-4
The Indian locomotive class WAM-4 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1970 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), alternating current (A), mixed traffic ( ...
s which were commissioned at Asansol. Shed was further expanded in 1974 to home 110 locos. which increased to 115 in 1980. With the introduction of air-brake stock, some WAG-4s were converted for dual brake operation. Further facilities were created for maintaining 20 such locos.
In the late 1995s
WAP-6 were introduced which stayed until late 2005, when they were transferred to Howrah. It later got a large fleet of
WAP-4
The Indian locomotive class WAP-4 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1993 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), AC Current (A), Passenger traffic (P) ...
locos from howrah. All
WAP-6 locos from Howrah shed converted to WAP-4 units and transferred here. The shed also have a few WAM-4 units. All the WAM-4s of this shed are being used for shunting service.
Operations
Being one of the three electric engine sheds in Eastern Railway, various major and minor maintenance schedules of electric locomotives are carried out here. It has the sanctioned capacity of 175 engine units. Beyond the operating capacity, this shed houses a total of 207 engine units, including 90
WAP-4
The Indian locomotive class WAP-4 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1993 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), AC Current (A), Passenger traffic (P) ...
and 19
WAP-7
The Indian locomotive class WAP-7 is a class of 25 Volt, kV Alternating current, AC Electric locomotive, electric locomotives that was developed in 1999 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works (CLW) for Indian Railways. The model name stands for 5 ft 6 ...
. It also housed a few WAM-4 locomotives temporarily. Electric loco Shed, Asansol is now housing a large fleet of
WAP-4
The Indian locomotive class WAP-4 is a class of 25 kV AC electric locomotives that was developed in 1993 by Chittaranjan Locomotive Works for Indian Railways. The model name stands for broad gauge (W), AC Current (A), Passenger traffic (P) ...
in Indian Railways and it caters to many long-distance electric trains.
Like all locomotive sheds, ASN does regular maintenance, overhaul and repair including painting and washing of locomotives. It not only attends to locomotives housed at ASN but to ones coming in from other sheds as well. It has four pit lines for loco repair. Locomotives of Asansol ELS along with Howrah ELS were the regular links for all trains running through West Bengal when widespread electrification of railway lines started in Eastern Railways. ASN locomotives used to be predominantly the regular links for trains traveling to north as well.
Livery and Markings
Though WAP-4 class have a standardized livery all over India, Asansol WAP-4 locomotives can easily be recognized by their
Blood Red with incomplete yellow band.
Locomotives
See also
*
Electric Loco Shed, Howrah
Electric Loco Shed, Howrah is a motive power depot performing locomotive maintenance and repair facility for electric locomotives of the Indian Railways, located at Howrah of the Eastern Railway zone in West Bengal, India. It is one of the ...
*
Diesel Loco Shed, Golden Rock
Diesel Loco Shed, Golden Rock is an engine shed located in Golden Rock, Tiruchirappalli, Tamil Nadu in India. It is located north of Golden Rock railway station, falling under Tiruchirappalli railway division. It is the largest of the four loc ...
*
Electric Loco Shed, Royapuram
Electric Loco Shed, Royapuram is a motive power depot performing locomotive maintenance and repair facility for electric locomotives of the Indian Railways, located at Royapuram on the Chennai Beach–Katpadi section of the Chennai Suburban Rai ...
*
Electric Loco Shed, Erode
Electric Loco Shed, Erode is one of the premiere engine sheds located in Erode in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu. It is located along the Jolarpettai–Coimbatore line, about 1 km to the east of , under the administrative control of Sale ...
References
External links
Websitemaps of Indian Railway Loco Shedsshowing the Erode Electric Loco Shed
{{Locomotives Sheds of India
Asansol
Asansol is a (Tier-II) metropolitan city in the Indian state of West Bengal. It is the second largest and most populated city of West Bengal and the 33rd largest urban agglomeration in India. Asansol is the district headquarters of Paschim Bar ...
Asansol railway division
Transport in West Bengal
1959 establishments in West Bengal