Swiss company supplies Ukraine-made wheels to Indian Railways

This is the first such delivery from the war-torn nation since the Russia-Ukraine conflict started in early 2022. The development comes close on the heels of Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s recent visit to Kyiv where he met with his counterpart, President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.

“Another 3,500 forged wheels are on their way from Ukraine. Orders for 10,000 forged wheels worth Rs 72 crore have been placed with the Swiss company earlier this year,” the official said.

These wheels are being manufactured in Dnipro (Ukraine) by Interpipe Group, a global producer of steel pipes and railway wheels. The wheels are for Bogie Open Wagon with Air Brakes (BOXN wagons), which are largely used for carrying goods such as coal, and are being loaded from an Ukrainian port in the Black Sea. “While the size of the order is small, this move opens up the opportunity for India to once again diversify its import sources, while domestic manufacturing of wheels picks up,” a second official said.

The Indian Railways last awarded a wheel procurement order to KLW Wheelco in March 2021 for 36,000 units worth Rs 116 crore. But due to the Ukraine war, the railways had to rely on China for wheel supply.

The Railway Board placed a 40,000 forged wheel procurement order on Hong Kong-based TZ (Taizhong) for Rs 279 crore earlier this year. These wheels will be manufactured in China by Taiyuan Heavy Industry Railway Transit Equipment Company in Shanxi.

Indian Railways has been importing forged wheels since the 1960s from the UK, Czech Republic, Brazil, Romania, Japan, China, Ukraine, and Russia. In all, the Railways needs to annually import around 80,000 wheels worth Rs 520 crore. Another 40,000 wheels are sourced from Steel Authority of India Ltd.

As per official estimates, India’s wheel requirement would touch 200,000 units annually by 2026 due to induction of speedier trains. However, the scenario is expected to improve with the national transporter taking over a Rs 2,200 crore forged wheel plant built by Rashtriya Ispat Nigam Ltd (RINL) in April this year.

Once fully operational, the plant alone can supply up to 80,000 wheels per year. In addition, a private consortium has also been awarded an annual offtake assurance of up to 80,000 units for setting up a local wheel manufacturing plant.