Titagarh–Ramkrishna Forgings to Begin Railway Wheel Production at ₹2,000 Crore Chennai Facility in August

The Titagarh Rail Systems–Ramkrishna Forgings joint venture is set to achieve a major milestone for India’s railway manufacturing sector as commercial production of forged railway wheels begins at its greenfield facility in Gummudipoondi near Chennai this August.

The new manufacturing unit represents an investment of around ₹2,000 crore and is expected to play a key role in reducing India’s long-standing dependence on imported forged railway wheels. For decades, Indian Railways has sourced a significant portion of these critical components from countries including China, Russia and Ukraine. With domestic production commencing, the country is expected to become increasingly self-reliant while also creating opportunities to serve export markets.

The Gummudipoondi plant has an annual manufacturing capacity of 2.28 lakh forged railway wheels. Around 80,000 wheels are planned for supply to Indian Railways every year once production reaches full capacity, while the remaining output will be targeted at international markets. Commercial supplies to Indian Railways are expected to begin with nearly 40,000 wheels during the first year of operations before gradually increasing over the next few years.

The project has already completed cold commissioning of its forging line, while trial production has been underway since June. Industry sources indicate that production systems have progressed as planned ahead of commercial operations.

The joint venture is led by Ramkrishna Forgings with a 51 percent stake, while Titagarh Rail Systems holds the remaining 49 percent. Together, the partners have infused nearly ₹500 crore in equity into the project, with the remaining investment supported through debt financing.

Once fully operational, the Gummudipoondi facility is expected to become the second-largest forged railway wheel manufacturing plant in Asia after China. The project also aligns with India’s broader objective of strengthening domestic railway manufacturing under the Make in India initiative while enhancing export competitiveness in high-value engineering products.

Separately, senior officials of Titagarh Rail Systems recently met Tamil Nadu Chief Minister C. Joseph Vijay. During the interaction, the state government is understood to have highlighted emerging opportunities in shipbuilding and encouraged the company to explore future investments in Tamil Nadu, including the possibility of establishing another shipyard in the state.