Ramkrishna Forgings and Titagarh Rail Systems consortium wins contract to supply 1.54 million forged wheels to Indian Railways

Kolkata : A consortium between Ramkrishna Forgings Limited (RKFL) and Titagarh Rail Systems Limited (TRSL), has been awarded the contract to manufacture and supply 15,40,000 forged wheels over a span of 20 years, under the Atmanirbhar Bharat Initiative by Ministry of Railways, Government of India. The contract will see the consortium delivering 40,000 forged wheels during the first year, 60,000 wheels in the second year and 80,000 wheels every subsequent year thereafter, with the total contract valued at ₹12,226.5 crores. An initiative to reduce India’s reliance on importing wheels from foreign countries, the Atmanirbhar Bharat Initiative has facilitated manufacturing opportunities for Indian firms to build and supply quality forged wheels to the Indian Railways. Aligning with the government’s vision and dream of making India truly self-reliant, the Indian Railways eventually aims to achieve 100% localization of wheel production through private Indian entities and cater to future growth in demand entirely through domestic production. The wheels manufactured under this agreement will cater to the requirements of multiple platforms, such as the LHB coaches, WAG9 Locomotives, Vande Bharat Express Trains, etc. The RKFL-TRSL consortium will be establishing a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility to manufacture these forged wheels, with total annual production targeted at 2,00,000 wheels when fully operational. Not only will this facility address the demands of the domestic railway sector, but also help the consortium address the latent demand from the private sector as well as export markets. The successful execution of this project will require a capital expenditure ranging from ₹ 1,000 to ₹1,200 Crores. To meet this financial requirement, both companies will contribute equity on an equal basis, ensuring a robust funding structure to support the project’s capital expenditure needs.