Titagarh Wagon manufactured aluminium coaches deployed for Pune Metro

On 26^th March 2022, Titagarh Wagons hailing from the eastern state of India, West Bengal deployed its first aluminium bodied metro train coaches for the Pune Metro rail Project. The Secretary of the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs (MoHUA) and the chairman of Maharashtra Metro Rail Corp, Manoj Joshi flagged the journey of the aluminium coaches.

Titagarh Wagons had received an order back in 2019 to manufacture and supply 102 metro carriages for the Pune Metro project 2019. Under the provision of the contract, the company may provide three trains from its plant in Italy and the remaining thirty-one is supposed to be supplied by the Indian facility. The total contract for the supply of 34 trains is costing almost Rs. 1,100 crore and the work phase is supposed to end by the 2022-2023 fiscal year.  

Titagarh wagon limited was founded by Umesh Chowdhury in 1997 and is the second-largest freight wagon manufacturer and the first private EMU (Electric Multiple Unit) manufacturers in India. The leading wagon manufacturing company is responsible for the production of railway wagons, bailey bridges, heavy earthmoving and mining equipment. It also deals in steel and SG iron castings of moderate to complex configuration. TWL also has a niche fabrication business catering to civil construction and defence sectors; often manufacturing other products for the Indian defence establishment such as special-purpose wagon shelters and other engineering equipment as an 'Industry Partner' to the Defence Research and Development Organization Ministry of Defence ('DRDO'). The company operates two manufacturing facilities at Titagarh and Uttapara in West Bengal.

Titagarh Wagons is one of the most potential candidates in the metro coach making and high-speed train manufacturing industry. Moreover, its 2015 incorporation of Italy-based Firema Transpoti has propelled the company to new heights. The first train manufactured at the company’s Italian facility was launched from the Garware station of the Pune Metro project.

To keep up with the world and to achieve the highest safety standards and comfort running at 90 kmph, the company has recently upgraded its manufacturing facility in Uttarpara on the outskirts of Kolkata. The signing of the Pune Metro contract has revived the confidence of the company as they are ready to welcome state-of-the-art machinery to refuel its working capacity. Certain components like bogie frame, interior and brake are being designed in an indigenous way.

Umesh Chowdhary, vice chairman and managing director of Titagarh Wagon, said, "With this first aluminium Make in India train being delivered for Maha Metro, it is a moment of great pride and satisfaction for Titagarh and a dream come true for me personally. The (Titagarh) group is participating in various other tenders for metro coaches in India, in addition to the focus on propulsion vertical."

Titagarh is the first Indian Company to be engaged in the design and manufacture of rolling stock for both passenger and freight services. We should never forget the mother brand of this comparatively new company, which is none other than Hindmotors, the creator of the renowned Hindustan Ambassador.

Chowdhury very proudly added that Titagarh was gradually moving towards becoming a fully integrated metro and passenger train manufacturing unit contributing to the Indian and International market. The company’s present capacity is 250 coaches a year but they wish to achieve the number 450 in another couple of years.

This entire project falls under the purview of the ‘Make In India’ concept. The MoHUA Secretary congratulated Maharashtra Metro managing director (MD) Dr. Dixit for taking a bold decision in making the aluminium-made train.

Dixit said, "Manufacture of such a light-weight aluminium-body train in India for the first time and its use for Maha Metro project is a major step."

"Work on the Nagpur Metro project was started in 2015. There was not a single company manufacturing metro trains in the country back then. Much progress has been achieved in this direction since then," he said.