Madhepura Electric Locomotive Private Limited (MELPL), a joint venture of Indian Railways and Alstom has supported an economic output of ₹60,000 crore according to a Socio Economic Impact Assessment study released by Dun & Bradstreet.
The study reveals details on how this FDI in the rail sector has supported economic growth and social change between FY20-FY26.
Key report highlights:
National Output: The project supported a total economic output of ₹60,000 crore and a Gross
Value Added (GVA) of ₹23,800 crore in the Indian economy.
Regional Economic Shift: In FY24, MELPL’s GST contribution was equivalent to one per cent of Bihar’s total GST collections, while its direct GVA constituted 4.6 per cent of Madhepura’s District GDDP, transitioning the local economy from being primarily agrarian to a growing industrial hub.
‘Make in India’ success: Achieving nearly 90 per cent localisation, the project nurtured a robust domestic supply chain and established India as the sixth country in the world capable of domestically producing advanced 12,000 HP e-locomotives.
Job creation: The facility has sustained an average of 2,300 jobs annually nationwide, with its direct workforce accounting for 12 per cent of all registered factory jobs in the Madhepura district.
A national engine for freight decarbonization
The report also highlights MELPL’s role as a critical enabler of India’s environmental goals. The WAG-12B Prima T8 locomotives manufactured at Madhepura are the workhorses of India’s Dedicated Freight Corridors. Their deployment is critical for advancing IR’s goal of increasing rail’s freight modal share to 45 per cent, significantly reducing logistics costs and India’s carbon footprint.
Social upliftment: empowering local communities -The report highlights the project’s success in driving social change on the ground:
Empowering women in non-traditional roles: The plant qualified the first female locomotive pilot in Alstom’s Asia-Pacific operations.
Attracting skilled workers: The presence of a world-class industrial facility has created high- quality jobs that have attracted skilled workers to return to their home region, showing improvement in the past migration trends.
Investing in health and education: Through its corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives, MELPL has invested over ₹17 crore in Madhepura. This includes providing healthcare to nearly 10,000 patients via mobile healthcare solutions, delivering modern STEAM education to over 2,000 students to prepare them for future jobs, and supporting the livelihoods of over 1,700 rural residents.
Other local impact
The project has catalyzed a 10x surge in commercial property values and spurred new micro-enterprises such as transport services and scrap recycling.
This grassroots growth is validated by a dramatic improvement in the district’s credit-to- deposit ratio, which jumped from 42 to over 70, signalling a vibrant and highly investable local economy.
Research Methodology
The assessment utilizes Dun & Bradstreet’s economic impact model, applying sector-specific multipliers from India’s Input-Output (I-O) tables to project the total Output, Gross Value Added
(GVA), and employment supported by MELPL. To ensure a comprehensive view without double counting, impacts are segmented into three channels:
Direct Impact: Activity within the Madhepura plant
Indirect Impact: Upstream effects across the national supply chain
Induced Impact: Economic activity generated from the spending of employee wages.
This quantitative modelling is supported by on-the-ground field research and triangulation with official data sources, including the Bihar Economic Survey and NASA’s satellite imagery.