Railways, RINL ink pact to set up forged wheel factory in UP

The proposed plant would come up near the existing Rail Coach Factory at Lalgung in Rae Bareli at an investment of Rs 1,000 crore, Railway Minister Pawan K Bansal said here after signing the MoU.

Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma, who was also present on the occasion, said the project would be a win-win for both Railways and the steel manufacturer and would have a role in the development of Uttar Pradesh.

"It will provide an employment of 500 to 600," he said.

Railways need about 70,000 wheels a year and a little over 70 per cent of that is met through imports, roughly at a cost of around Rs 70,000 a wheel.

The demand for such wheels is set to go up to one lakh by 2016-17 as more wagons and coaches would be pressed into service in the coming years.

The proposed factory having a capacity of manufacturing 1,00,000 wheels in a year will be the largest of its kind in India.

RINL, a PSU under the Steel Ministry, will set up the plant on 27 acres of land to be provided by Railways, which would also ensure full offtake from the plant.

"The wheel factory alongwith the coach factory will generate good employment opportunities in the area. There will be also a new colony coming up for the Rae Bareli factory employees," Bansal said.

Another pact was inked between Railways and state-owned iron ore miner NMDC for doubling the 150 KM rail line from Kirandul to Jagadalpur in Chhattisgarh at a cost of Rs 826 crore, to be funded by NMDC.

"The doubling work will facilitate more transportation of goods like iron ore which will create additional capacity and benefit the area," Bansal said, adding, "NMDC will get freight rebate from the Railways."

"The doubling of line will usher in an era of growth dedicated to the service of the nation. This will also help in transforming the lives of the local tribal people in Bastar in Chhattisgarh and adjacent states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh," Verma said.