Railways floats tender to procure 80,000 indigenous forged wheels a year

Aiming to reduce import-dependence, the railways ministry is set to procure nearly 80,000 forged train wheels at a cost of Rs 600 crore per year.
Union Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw announced on Friday the ministry floated a tender 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).

An official said the estimated cost of setting up a production unit is close to Rs 1,000 crore, and that the tender is only open to Indian companies. The ministry earlier relied on imports from Europe for these specialised wheels.