Kolkata: A consortium of Ramkrishna Forgings Ltd, one of the leading suppliers of rolled, forged, and machined products, and Titagarh Wagons Ltd has been declared the Lowest Bidder (L1) by the Indian Railways for manufacturing and supplying of forged wheels.

As recently announced by the Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw this tender is aimed at reducing the Indian Railway’s import dependence, by inviting the industry to set up a facility to produce these wheels, which will primarily be used for semi-high speed trains (Vande Bharat) and high-speed trains (bullet train).

The consortium of Ramkrishna Forgings and Titagarh Wagons, being L1, as the selected bidder would be required to set up a wheel test centre at a railway site for prototype testing of newly designed wheels, the release said.

The consortium will set up a state-of-the-art manufacturing facility in India for forged wheel production and will supply approximately 1.6-million-wheel discs of different rolling stocks of Indian Railways over a period of 20 years at about 80,000 wheels per annum.

Ramkrishna Forgings Ltd MD Naresh Jalan said, “The partnership with Titagarh Wagons Limited is a strategic move towards expanding our presence in the railway segment and we are confident that our joint efforts will enable us to deliver world-class products and services to the Indian Railways.”

Titagarh Wagons Ltd Vice-Chairman & Managing Director Umesh Chowdhary said, “It is a path-breaking development and Titagarh Wagons as a leading supplier of Passenger & Freight Rolling Stock to the Indian Railways who are our largest customer, is ready for this opportunity to supply Forged Wheels and expand its footprint by further strengthening its capabilities in the railway rolling stock segment.”