RINL signs MoU with Railways to set up wheel factory at Rai Bareli

Government-owned Rashtriya Ispat
Nigam Ltd (RINL) has signed a
memorandum of understanding (MoU)
with national transporter Indian Railways
to set up a forged wheel factory at Rai
Bareli in Uttar Pradesh.
The factory, which is scheduled to be
completed in around three years at a cost
of Rs 1,000 crore, will be the biggest such
plant in India. It will have an annual
production capacity of 100,000 wheels.
After signing the MoU, Railway Minister
Pawan Bansal said that the proposed plant
would be built near the Lalgunj, Rae
Bareli-based existing Rail Coach Factory.
Mr. Bansal added that the new wheel
manufacturing facility would reduce the
railways' dependence on imports.
Currently, Indian Railways imports wheels
worth Rs 350 crore per year.
In addition, the upcoming factory will
generate more than 500 jobs. Steel
Minister Beni Prasad Verma said, "It will
provide an employment of 500 to 600."
Indian Railways require around 70,000
wheels per year. More than 70 per cent
of the total demand is met via imports, at
a cost of nearly Rs 70,000 per wheel.
The demand for wheels will jump to an
estimated of one lakh by 2016-17 as the
government has plans to put more
coaches into service in the coming years.
Indian Railways also penned down a
contract with NMDC for doubling the 150-
kilometer rail line between Kirandul and
Jagadalpur in Chhattisgarh. The entire
cost of Rs 826 crore will be borne by the
state-run miner.