Indian Railways plans 100% indigenous coach manufacturing by 2022

01 Apr 2021 CW Team

The Ministry of Railways (MoR) is planning a 100% indigenous manufacturing of all rail coaches by ending dependence on imports from other countries, including China, by 2022.

Currently, the Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches, being manufactured by the production units of the Indian Railways—Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Rail Coach Factory (RCF) and Modern Coach Factory (MCF), are fully indigenous except for the wheels and axles. The wheel discs and semi-finish axles are imported from China for the LHB coaches.

Sources told the media that the Indian Railways' import component of manufacturing parts has reduced steadily in recent years, and now it's around 1.6% of the total value of items. They said efforts have been undertaken to reduce this share of imports further, and some of the last few remaining items like wheels and axles are now going to be entirely manufactured in India.

In 2020-21, Indian Railways imported 60,000 LHB wheels, which is a 100% annual requirement of LHB wheels by the railways. Around 4,000 axles, which constitute around 18% of Indian Railways annual requirement, were imported.

The LHB coaches use forged wheels. Axles of all the rolling stock are forged, and wheels were imported as they were not manufactured here, and axles were imported because of capacity constraints.

SAIL, Durgapur, which was primarily manufacturing wheels for locomotives, has started manufacturing LHB wheels too, an official told the media. It has manufactured and delivered about 400 wheels that are on trial. The unit has the capacity to manufacture about 60,000 forged wheels of all types. With these steps, a capacity of 1.1 lakh LHB wheels shall be available in India, and this will be more than the annual requirement of LHB coaches, according to the official.

Image Source

Also read: MoD unveils first indigenous driverless metro car

Also read: Vande Bharat must make most procurement locally

The Ministry of Railways (MoR) is planning a 100% indigenous manufacturing of all rail coaches by ending dependence on imports from other countries, including China, by 2022. Currently, the Linke Hofmann Busch (LHB) coaches, being manufactured by the production units of the Indian Railways—Integral Coach Factory (ICF), Rail Coach Factory (RCF) and Modern Coach Factory (MCF), are fully indigenous except for the wheels and axles. The wheel discs and semi-finish axles are imported from China for the LHB coaches. Sources told the media that the Indian Railways' import component of manufacturing parts has reduced steadily in recent years, and now it's around 1.6% of the total value of items. They said efforts have been undertaken to reduce this share of imports further, and some of the last few remaining items like wheels and axles are now going to be entirely manufactured in India. In 2020-21, Indian Railways imported 60,000 LHB wheels, which is a 100% annual requirement of LHB wheels by the railways. Around 4,000 axles, which constitute around 18% of Indian Railways annual requirement, were imported. The LHB coaches use forged wheels. Axles of all the rolling stock are forged, and wheels were imported as they were not manufactured here, and axles were imported because of capacity constraints. SAIL, Durgapur, which was primarily manufacturing wheels for locomotives, has started manufacturing LHB wheels too, an official told the media. It has manufactured and delivered about 400 wheels that are on trial. The unit has the capacity to manufacture about 60,000 forged wheels of all types. With these steps, a capacity of 1.1 lakh LHB wheels shall be available in India, and this will be more than the annual requirement of LHB coaches, according to the official. Image Source Also read: MoD unveils first indigenous driverless metro car Also read: Vande Bharat must make most procurement locally

Infrastructure Transport

01 Jun 2026

MMRDA advances 250 m on Orange Gate–Marine Drive tunnel

The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) has completed 250 m of underground tunnelling for the Orange Gate–Marine Drive Urban Road Tunnel using India’s largest slurry shield tunnel boring machine (TBM) deployed for an urban road project.The project involves twin tunnels extending over 7 km beneath critical transport corridors, including Central Railway, Western Railway and Metro Line 3. The work requires high-precision engineering to navigate densely developed urban infrastructure.Once completed, the tunnel is expected to reduce travel time between Orange Gate and Marin..

Infrastructure Urban

01 Jun 2026

Hindustan Zinc Pays Rs 188.46 Billion in FY26

Hindustan Zinc contributed Rs 188.46 billion to the public exchequer in FY 2025-26, according to its 9th Tax Transparency Report. The contribution, equivalent to 46 per cent of the company’s revenue, included direct and indirect taxes, government royalties, dividends to the Government of India, withholding taxes and other statutory levies.The company’s five-year cumulative contribution to the exchequer stood at Rs 915.72 billion. In FY26, Hindustan Zinc reported revenue of Rs 408.44 billion, EBITDA of Rs 221.62 billion and profit after tax of Rs 138.32 billion. It also achieved its highest..

Infrastructure Urban

01 Jun 2026

World of Concrete India 2026 Opens in Mumbai

Informa Markets in India will host the 12th edition of World of Concrete India 2026 from 3–5 June 2026 at the Bombay Exhibition Centre, Mumbai. The specialised B2B exhibition will bring together manufacturers, suppliers, contractors, developers, architects, consultants, infrastructure companies, project leaders and government stakeholders.The event is expected to feature over 350 brands and more than 18,000 trade professionals. It will cover concrete and cement, dry mortar, precast technologies, formwork, construction chemicals, industrial and commercial flooring, scaffolding, safety solutio..