Indian Railways has tied up with an Indian company to reduce the import of rail wheels. The officers provided this information. Indian Railways is mainly dependent on China for its wheel requirements. According to the Railways, it has been importing various types of forged wheels required for locomotives and coaching stock (LHB) from Britain, Czech Republic, Brazil, Romania, Japan, China, Ukraine and Russia since the 1960s. . “Wheels worth approximately Rs 900 crore were imported from China and Russia/Ukraine during the year 2024-25 and 40,000 wheels were procured from Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL), the Railway Ministry said in a statement. Currently, due to the Russia-Ukraine crisis, most of the import requirement of wheels is being met from China.”
80,000 wheels will be supplied every year for 20 years
“The requirement of wheels is estimated to increase to two lakh by 2026 due to the addition of more and higher speed trains,” it said. According to the ministry, the current domestic production capacity for 2024-25 is only 75,000 wheels. Therefore, it plans to scale it up by collaborating with an Indian company – a consortium of Ramakrishna Forgings Limited (RKFL) and Titagarh Rail Systems Limited (TWL). It can supply 80,000 wheels per year for the next 20 years. According to the statement, “In-principle vide letter of RB (Railway Board) dated December 9, 2024 on the request of group key member Ramakrishna for execution of the contract through a special purpose vehicle (SPV) has been agreed to, subject to a certain condition in respect of the majority shareholders in the SPV belonging to the lead member (Ramakrishna). Awaiting response from Ramakrishna.”
Plant being built in Tamil Nadu
“As per information, the company has acquired 72.75 acres of land in Tamil Nadu for setting up the wheel project and the construction work for the project is in the final stages,” the statement said. Civil work including shed construction is going on.” The ministry said that as per the information received from the vendor, all the machines have been ordered and their supply is expected to start in March 2025. “As per the information, the construction of the plant is expected to be completed by March, 2026. On the request of Ramakrishna, the Railway Board has issued a letter for the issue of 20 wheels on payment basis for sampling purposes.”
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