On April 10, 2018, the first 12,000 horsepower electric locomotive was flagged off at the Madhepura loco factory. The loco factory was proposed in 2007 and is a part of the Make in India initiative of the central government. The contract was awarded to Alstom, with Indian Railways (IR) holding a stake of 24 per cent in the SPV. Phase I of the project, which entailed an investment of Rs 13 billion, is spread over an area of 250 acres, and involved the construction of a loco assembly shop, test building and test track, along with a guest house, hostel facility and township. The phase has been completed within a period of 12 months.
