The 1st AC Electric Locomotive on the Indian Railways the 1st January, 1959 by Shri Jagjivan Ram, the then Minister of Railways at Asansol Railway Station.
This locomotive was aptly christened as “JAGJIVAN RAM”.
This event marked the beginning of 25 KV AC traction on the Indian Railway System. This 2840 HP electric locomotive was manufactured at Germany and imported at an approx. cost of Rs. 10 lakhs in the year 1958. It employed Ignitron type mercury arc rectifiers for converting AC to DC for powering its motors. This 74 ton locomotive worked at 100 KMPH and also hauled the Kalka-Howrah Mail Deluxe Express trains.
At its mid-life rehabilitation stage, the locomotive was converted from mercury arc to silicon diode type rectifiers.
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