Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP) of Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) will supply 500 metre gauge loco wheels to the Indian Railways. Till now these wheels were imported.
Earlier DSP had developed broad gauge loco wheels for Indian Railways, also an import substitution item. During the previous fiscal, DSP had supplied 16,900 BG loco wheels to the Railways. The MG loco wheel differs from the BG loco wheel in size, as well as in weight. For the development of MG loco wheels, the plant had to modify the die, tools.
The Wheel & Axle Plant of Durgapur Steel Plant is the only plant in the country producing wheels by the forging process. It was originally set up to produce BG coach wheels. DSP modernised the plant for Rs 135 crore in the early nineties.
DSP has supplied 22,000 wheels (both BG coach and loco wheels) to the Railways in the first half of the current financial year, fulfilling the orders placed for this period. The Railways indicate their requirements before the commencement of each quarter. DSP has been given orders to supply around 14,000 wheels in the third quarter of the current fiscal. DSP supplied record 54,000 wheels to the Indian Railways in 2000-2001.
DSP is installing at a cost of Rs. 8 crore the latest on-line testing facilities in its wheel and axle plant to meet the exacting standards of Indian Railways.
The plant has plans to install and commission its Universal Testing Machine, Brinell Hardness Testing Machine and other facilities by the end of November 2001. The online Ultrasonic Testing Machine and the online Magnetic Particle Testing Machine and other balance facilities would be commissioned by the end of this fiscal.
DSP reported the best ever production in all major units in the first half of the current financial year.
Saleable steel production at 7,52,161 tonne was about 7 per cent higher than the previous best figure of 7,03,332 tonne achieved during the corresponding period of the previous financial year.
