Patna, April 10: Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Tuesday will be in Bihar to join in the centenary celebrations of Mahatma Gandhi's Champaran Satyagraha. Besides inaugurating the Bapudham Railway station, the Prime Minister will also flag off the Indian Railways Humsafar Express train service.

PM Modi's visit is a part of the concluding celebration of Champaran Satyagraha centenary launched by the Bihar Government in April last year.  The Prime Minister will lay the foundation stone for doubling of Railway lines between Muzaffarpur and Sagauli, and Sagauli and Valmikinagar.

Here's all you need to know about  India's first all-electric high-speed locomotive:

  1. PM Modi’s visit to Bihar today will witness the flagging off of India's first all-electric high-speed locomotive.

  2. The electric locomotive has been developed at Madhepura's Electric Locomotive Factory and is the first big Make-in-India project completed by Alstom of France.

  3. The new bi-weekly train Humsafar Express will connect Katihar to New Delhi.

  4. The Prime Minister will also launch electrification work of Motihari-Muzaffarpur rail line and doubling of Muzaffarpur-Narkatiyaganj railway track.

  5. PM Modi will also dedicate to the nation a locomotive developed at the Electric Locomotive Factory, a collaboration between India and France, in Madhepura.

Under the agreement with Alstom, India will get 800 high horsepower electric locomotives over the next 11 years, at a cost of Rs. 20,000 crore. The locomotive will feature a 12,000 horsepower engine and will have a maximum speed of 120 km per hour. As per reports, this will be the first of 40 locomotives expected to roll out of the factory by the end of March 2020.

On the 100th anniversary of Champaran Satyagraha, PM Modi to take part in 'Satyagraha se Swachhagraha' programme in Motihari and will address "Swachchh Bharat Mission" volunteers, and flag off a number of railway schemes.  As per reports, more than 20,000 Swacchagrahis from across the country to be present.  The Prime Minister has pitched the occasion as a celebration of his Clean India mission, calling it the "Satyagraha se Swachhagrah" campaign.

The Satyagraha of 1917 that took place in the Champaran district of Bihar was the first Satyagraha movement inspired by Mohandas Gandhi and a major revolt in the Indian Independence Movement. Champaran Satyagraha was the first to be started and was aimed to fight for the rights of farmers who were forced to undertake indigo cultivation.

As per details by Alstom, the company announced the completion of its first all-electric locomotive from its state-of-the-art locomotive facility at Madhepura in Bihar on schedule. In line with the Government’s and Indian Railways’ target towards 100% electrification and towards sustainable mobility, these new locomotives will not only bring down operating costs for the Railways but will significantly cut down greenhouse gas emissions as well.

As per details on the Alstom website, the first locomotive is part of a €3.5 billion order comprising 800 electric double-section locomotives signed in 2015 which contribute to the Ministry of Railways’ public-private partnership programme to modernise the country’s rail infrastructure. This agreement remains the largest Foreign Direct Investment in the railways' sector to date and has a strategic role in creating a multiplier effect on the economy.

(The above story first appeared on LatestLY on Apr 10, 2018 09:00 AM IST. For more news and updates on politics, world, sports, entertainment and lifestyle, log on to our website latestly.com).