New units won't hit wagon industry: Titagarh Wagons

Leading wagon maker Titagarh Wagons today said the proposed new wagon units by the Indian Railways will not hit the industry.

"The proposed new wagon units will not have any adverse impact on the industry," Titagarh Wagons Chairman J P Chowdhury told PTI.

In the Railway Budget announced today, Union Railway Minister Mamata Banerjee proposed two new wagon units through joint venture. Last year, a wagon factory had been proposed at Kulti.

Earlier, other wagon makers, including Texmaco Chairman Saroj Poddar, had objected to the Railway's move to install new wagon manufacturing capacity, alleging it would hurt the industry when there was already an excess capacity.

Chowdhury said the new capacity was not coming up immediately and by the time it took shape, the demand for wagons would have increased.

This year the wagon procurement target is 18,000 wagons higher than the current year's plan of 16,500 wagons.

However, industry sources said there was a shortfall of orders for 1,500 wagons from the budget proposal.

They said the budget was satisfactory in that the industry was not expecting it to be any better under the president condition.