A consortium of Ramkrishna Forgings and Titagarh Wagons has emerged as the lowest bidder in the railways contract to build and supply 80,000 forged wheels per annum over a period of 20 years.

Market sources estimate the contract value at around Rs 12,500 crore and the project cost could be around Rs 25,000 crore. The consortium plans to set up a manufacturing facility in India for forged wheel production.

As the lowest bidder, it would also have to set up a wheel test centre at a railway site for prototype testing of newly designed wheels.

“As a leading supplier of passenger and freight rolling stock to Indian Railways, Titagarh Wagons is ready for this opportunity to supply forged wheels and expand its footprint by further strengthening its capabilities in the railway rolling stock segment,” said Umesh Chowdhary, vice-chairman and managing director, Titagarh Wagons Limited.

“This is a testament to our strong technical capabilities and our commitment to deliver high-quality products to our customers.

“The partnership with Titagarh Wagons Limited is a strategic move towards expanding our presence in the railway segment,” said Naresh Jain, managing director, Ramkrishna Forgings Limited.

The company is a leading supplier of rolled, forged and machined products.

The plan to manufacture forged wheels within the country is an effort towards reducing the import dependence of Indian Railways.

The forged wheels would be used for semi-high-speed trains and high speed trains, including Vande Bharat.

Incidentally, a consortium of Titagarh Wagons and Bhelhas been declared as the second lowest bidder for manufacturing Vande Bharat trains where the overall contract value for the consortium is estimated at around Rs 25,000 crore.

Texmaco order

Texmaco Rail and Engineering has been provisionally recommended for an engineering design and renovation project in Rwanda as part of Rwanda Transmission System Reinforcement and Last Mile Connectivity project. The company’s bid amount was $7.87 million.

“We are happy to be part of the project and we look forward to its successful implementation,” said Indrajit Mookherjee.