Hilton Metal Forging Ltd has successfully developed and manufactured forged railway wagon wheelsets, marking a significant milestone in its railway components portfolio. Each wheelset comprises two forged wheels and one forged axle, with every coach or wagon requiring four such wheelsets. The newly developed wheelsets have been thoroughly inspected and approved by RITES, the authorized inspection agency.
With this achievement, Hilton is poised to meet the growing demand from railway wagon manufacturers in India and reduce the country’s dependency on imported wheelsets, particularly from China. Under its expansion roadmap, the company aims to manufacture over 3,000 railway forged wagon wheelsets in FY26 and scale up production to more than 12,000 units in FY27. The long-term goal is to reach an installed capacity of 20,000 wheelsets annually, aligning with the Government of India’s “Make in India” initiative.
India’s emphasis on increasing the share of freight movement via railways—from the current 27% to 45% by 2030—is creating robust demand for railway components. With 98% of the rail network now electrified and initiatives like Mission Raftaar focusing on enhancing train speeds, Indian Railways is expanding both freight and passenger services to reduce transit times nationwide.
In FY25, India produced 41,929 freight wagons (up from 37,650 in FY24), 1,681 locomotives (a 19% increase from FY24), and 7,134 passenger coaches (compared to 6,541 in FY24), indicating a consistent rise in railway production. Additionally, around 90,000 mixed rolling stock units—including freight wagons, coaches, and locomotives—undergo periodic maintenance each year across 44 railway workshops.
The annual demand for new railway wagon wheelsets in India is estimated at 1.7 lakh units, with an additional requirement of approximately 2.5 lakh individual wheels. As domestic production of wagons, coaches, and locomotives continues to grow, the demand for high-quality forged wheelsets is expected to rise steadily.
Hilton Metal Forging Ltd’s entry into the railway wheelset manufacturing segment positions it strongly to capitalize on this growing market and support the modernization and self-reliance goals of Indian Railways.