The proposed forged wheel factory with a capacity of manufacturing 1,00,000 wheels in a year will be the largest of its kind in India.
The factory will come up near the existing Rail Coach Factory at Lalgung in Rae Bareli, Railway Minister Pawan Kumar Bansal said after the signing ceremony.
RINL, a PSU under Steel Ministry, will set up the factory at an estimated cost of Rs 1,000 crore. Railways will procure wheels from it.
Railways require about 70,000 forged wheels in a year. The demand will increase to one lakh wheels by 2016-17 as more wagons and coaches will be pressed into service in the coming years.
Currently, Railways depend mostly on the import of forged wheels to meet its requirement.
"The wheel factory alongwith the coach factory will generate good employment opportunities in the area. There will be also a new colony coming up for the Rae Bareli factory employees," Bansal said.
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Another agreement was signed between Railways and NMDC Ltd, a subsidiary of Steel Ministry, for doubling the 150 km rail line from Kirandul to Jagadalpur in Chhattisgarh.
"The doubling work will facilitate more transportation of goods like iron ore which will create additional capacity and benefit the area," Bansal said adding "NMDC will get freight rebate from railways."
Steel Minister Beni Prasad Verma said, "the doubling of line will usher in an era of growth dedicated to the service of the nation. This will also help transforming the lives of of local tribal population in Bastar in Chhattisgarh and adjacent states of Odisha and Andhra Pradesh."