New Delhi, Jun 23 (PTI) The Railway Board has directed all railway zones to supply scrapped wheels and their components to manufacturing units to help meet wheel production targets for 2026-27.
Indian Railways has two such units — the Rail Wheel Factory (RWF) in Yelahanka, Karnataka, and the Rail Wheel Plant (RWP) in Bela, Bihar — where wheels are manufactured using discarded wheels and their components, collectively known as Wheel Tyre Axle (WTA) scrap.
“Each zone has been assigned a target for the supply of scrap material based on the estimated quantity generated over a period of time, which is to be dispatched to the two manufacturing units,” a senior railway official said.
The total quantity of WTA scrap to be supplied during FY 2026-27 is 1,52,800 metric tonnes (MT). Before the Railway Board issued its directive, both factories had written to the Board and the railway zones, highlighting their annual scrap requirements for wheel production.
Zones such as Eastern Railway, South Central Railway and Northern Railway have been assigned the highest quantities of scrap material — 19,000 MT, 16,100 MT and 15,100 MT, respectively.
“Wheels are manufactured at our factories using scrap components that we regularly receive from various zones. We do not procure any material from outside. The scrap generated within the railways is sufficient to meet our annual production requirements,” an official at the Rail Wheel Factory in Yelahanka said.
The official added that besides domestic wheel production, Indian Railways also imports a significant number of wheels to meet the requirements of mail and express trains.
To reduce transportation distances and freight costs, Southern Railway, South Central Railway and South Western Railway have been asked to send their scrap material to RWF, Yelahanka, as these zones are geographically closer to Bengaluru.
Similarly, East Central Railway, Eastern Railway, North Eastern Railway and Northeast Frontier Railway will send scrap material to RWP, Bela, as these zones are located closer to the manufacturing unit.
“Other Railways will dispatch WTA scrap to both RWF and RWP as per their requirements,” the Railway Board said in its letter.
The Board further stated, “Workshops are also required to hand over WTA scrap expeditiously to enable timely dispatch, and Zonal Railways are to coordinate closely with RWF and RWP to ensure the availability of WTA scrap.” PTI JP PRK
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