Source: https://www.hindustantimes.com/india-news/railwaus-to-make-train-wheels-exportvaishnaw-101662748924319.html
Publisher: Hindustan Times
The Indian Railways has floated a tender inviting bids to manufacture wheels for high-speed trains like Vande Bharat in the country and to potentially export them to European nations, Union minister Ashwini Vaishnaw said on Friday.
“For the first time, Railways has aimed to become an exporter from an importer by floating a tender to manufacture wheels under the ‘Make In India’ agreement. Setting up a plant will ensure procurement of at least 80,000 wheels at the cost of ₹600 crore every year,” Vaishnaw said.
India has been importing wheels from Ukraine, Czechoslovakia and Germany. In June, wheels meant for Vande Bharat trains were stuck in war-torn Ukraine and had to be airlifted to India meet the timelines set for production of rakes.
“We have been importing forged wheels (used for high-speed trains) since 1960 from European nations. Now, with this plant, India not only will manufacturer wheels, but also export them to Europe,” Vaishnaw said while addressing the media on Friday.
According to a ministry official familiar with the matter, India has been importing around 70,000 wheels annually at a cost of around ₹70,000 per wheel.
“With increasing production of high-speed trains, demand for wheels is 2 lakh per year. Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) will provide one lakh wheels, and the rest will be provided by the new plant,” Vaishnaw said
He said that the ministry has made it mandatory for the winning bidder to also be an exporter. “The tender mandates that the plant has to be set up within 18 months”, Vaishnaw said.
“The ministry aims to complete the tendering process in 45 days and set up the plant by March 2024,” he said, adding that the domestically-made wheels will also save “significant” amounts of Railways’ money.
Additonally, the Railways ministry is set to come up with a Make in India track agreement in a month, in which very high-strength tracks too will be manufactured in the country, Vaishnaw said.
On the other hand, the much talked about Vande Bharat 2 (VB 2) trains completed trials on Friday.
The minister said VB2 will be equipped with more advanced features and will boast of a top speed of 180 kmph, as compared to the 160 kmph of the first generation Vande Bharat trains. He added that the VB2 trains will also be lighter compared to their predecessors, coming in at 392 tonnes as compared to the 430-tonne weight of the previous iteration.
He added that the next generation will also host several advanced passenger amenities such as on-demand digital content.
“Side recliner seat facility, which is currently being provided to executive class passengers, will now be made available for all classes,” he added.
“In the new design, a photo-catalytic UV air purification system is installed for air purification. As recommended by Central Scientific Instruments Organisation (CSIO), Chandigarh, this system is installed at both ends to filter and clean the air,” he concluded.
