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ShareKolkata: With the Rail Budget just a couple of days away, private sector wagons manufacturers such as Titagarh Wagons, Jessop and Texmaco are eyeing a substantial portion of the orders the Indian Railways will place in the near future.
The companies are betting big on the Railways initiative to move away from the traditional mild steel-bodied wagons to stainless steel and aluminium ones, which are estimated to make 60% of its future orders.
Stainless steel wagons have features like higher axle load, lower tear and long train length, which improve the throughput per rake, said industry players. These new designs will put emphasis on stainless steel sheets, plates and sections, meaning less or no corrosion, higher tensile strength and in turn, longevity for the wagons.
The companies are also expecting orders in "frameless tank", "fly ash" and "auto car" wagons.
In February, the interim Rail Budget by the then railway minister Lalu Prasad Yadav had indicated that production of wagons will be increased to 15,000 units per annum from 6,600 now and diesel and electric locomotives to 480 units from 202.
A K Sinha, senior vice president (rolling stock division), Texmaco, said the company's share in the total orders being released by the Railways is 25%. Confident of its performance, Texmaco expects its share to be higher in the coming years. The company plans to step up its outturn from the current 5,000-odd wagons to over 7,500 wagons per annum in the near future.
Titagarh Wagons, which manufactures 5,000-6,000 wagons per annum, is bracing for "new orders that are underway from the Railways", especially through its 49:51 aluminium wagons joint venture with Freight Car America. Aluminium wagons are expected to be in demand for carrying coal. The company has also shifted focus to Indian Railways from the private sector, which is deferring purchases due to drop in iron ore prices and delays in steel and power projects.
J P Chowdhary, chairman, Titagarh Wagons, told DNA, "Stainless steel and aluminium wagons are the way forward because they are lighter and have longer lifespan and so, can carry more payload." Titagarh Wagons' order book stands at 19,000 units, valued at about Rs 2,000 crore.
Jessop said the company would "like to have orders for both conventional and new designs." "The current order book, along with the letter of intents (LoIs) available with Jessop, is sufficient for the next 6-8 months. We expect to receive further orders," the company said.
Currently, Jessop has orders for hopper wagons, brake vans and open wagons. The LoIs include two varieties of stainless steel wagons. Indian Railways is the single largest customer and contributes about 70% to the company's total revenues.
Texmaco's Sinha said the company is fully geared to manufacture stainless steel wagons.In fact, Texmaco is currently manufacturing more than 300 SS wagons, both open and covered, per month. He said as far as aluminium wagons are concerned, though the Railways has placed orders with two wagon builders, including Texmaco, not much progress has taken place as there is uncertainty over the commercial viability of aluminium wagons on the Indian Railways network.
