India Set To Become Exporter Of Forged Railway Wheels After Decades Of Imports

New Delhi, Mar 15 (KNN) Union Minister of Railways Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Thursday that construction has begun on a new plant in Tamil Nadu to manufacture forged wheels for Indian railways.

The facility is a joint venture between the Indian Railways and Ramakrishna Forgings Ltd, with an investment of Rs 650 crore in the first phase.

For over 60 years, India has been an importer of forged wheels used in railways.

However, that is about to change as the country gears up to become an exporter of this critical train component.

"The plant will have the capacity to produce 2.5 lakh wheels annually, of which 80,000 will be used domestically and the remaining 1.7 lakh wheels will be exported," Vaishnaw stated.

This marks a major shift as India transitions from an importer to a major global exporter of forged railway wheels.

The minister highlighted the success of India's semi-high speed Vande Bharat trains which use specialised forged wheels manufactured through a distinct process compared to wheels used in regular train wagons.

In addition to the wheel plant, the Integral Coach Factory (ICF) in Chennai will also develop standard gauge Vande Bharat trains to cater to export markets globally.

Designing, testing and obtaining necessary approvals is a lengthy process expected to take around 5 years.

ICF is one of the world's largest rail coach manufacturers, having produced over 73,700 coaches since 1955.

It has previously exported over 875 coaches and components worth around Rs 1,004 crore to countries like Thailand, Myanmar, Taiwan, Zambia and Vietnam.

The new initiatives reflect India's ambitions in the rail infrastructure segment, aiming to emerge as a major exporter of rolling stock and components to the world.

(KNN Bureau)