Titagarh Wagons Limited (BSE: 532966|NSE: TWL), a flagship company of Titagarh Group and a leading Indian player in the design and manufacture of modern passenger and freight rolling stock, achieved a big milestone today.
The first aluminium metro train manufactured by Titagarh in its newly set up state-of-the-art plant in West Bengal was today flagged off by Shri Manoj Joshi, IAS, Chairman – Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited and Hon’ble Secretary, Ministry of Housing & Urban Affairs, in the esteemed precede of Dr Brijesh Dixit, Managing Director - Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited; Shri Jaideep, Director - Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited, Officer on Special Duty (OSD), Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs; Shri Sunil Mathur, Director (Rolling Stocks, System & Operations) - Maharashtra Metro Rail Corporation Limited and several other Maha Metro officials and dignitaries.
Titagarh was awarded the prestigious order for design, manufacture and supply of 102 Metro Coaches for the Pune Metro project in 2019. The contract was signed jointly with its subsidiary- Titagarh Firema S.p.A., Italy (TFA).
As per the contract, Titagarh will supply 3 Trains from its plant in Italy and the remaining 31 Trains from its Indian facilities. The total contract for 34 trains is valued at an approximate cost of Rs. 1,100 crores scheduled for execution by the end of the financial year 2022-23.
Titagarh, owing to the acquisition of its Italian subsidiary Titagarh Firema in Italy, is equipped with the technology for metro trains and also semi-high-speed trains and has been catering to the European market for several decades.
The first train manufactured at Titagarh’s Italian facilities was flagged off and launched for normal operation on March 7, 2022, by Shri Narendra Modi, the Hon’ble Prime Minister of India from the Garware Station in Pune. The PM also took a ride on the train.
Soon after bagging the order for the Pune Metro project, Titagarh swiftly built up the infrastructure in Uttarpara to cater to these ultra-modern metro coaches fitted with sophisticated features, the highest safety standards and comfort running at 90 kmph on the Pune Metro Railway network.
The upgraded plant in West Bengal's Uttarpara is state-of-the-art and fully compliant with industry 4.0 standards. As strong believers in the Government’s “Make in India” and “Atmanirbhar Bharat” policies, Titagarh also strived to indigenize several critical components such as bogie frames, interiors, and brake systems for these trains and is proud to report its success in doing the same.
Hon’ble Shri Manoj Joshi, Secretary MoHUA appreciated the group on the indigenous methodology adopted by Titagarh for manufacturing the first aluminium bodied coach in India. Hon’ble Shri Brijesh Dixit, Managing Director – Maha Metro congratulated Titagarh group for the fast turnaround in manufacturing and successfully overcoming indigenous challenges.
Mr Umesh Chowdhary, Vice Chairman & Managing Director of Titagarh said, "We began our journey to manufacture passenger trains (EMU) in India in 2007 with a dream to design and manufacture modern passenger trains for the Indian Metro System. 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 Group is participating in various other tenders for Metro Coaches in India in addition to the focus on the propulsion vertical. There is tremendous potential for growth thanks to the continued trust and support provided by the Government of India to the Indian companies under schemes such as “Make in India” and encourage companies like Titagarh to become a global player along the path of its mission- “Mobility for billions.”
Mr Chowdhary thanked the dignitaries present on the platform for their encouragement and support and also expressed his appreciation for the hard work put in by the committed Titagarh team in India and Italy to reach this milestone. “I am confident that the good work will continue and Titagarh will deliver the remaining Metro Trains as per the requirement of Maha Metro,” he added.
Mr Umesh Chowdhary said, “The dream and vision of Titagarh is to be a fully integrated metro and modern passenger train manufacturer in India, not only catering to the Indian market but also making in India for the world. We now have the capacity to manufacture up to 250 coaches a year and will enhance this to be able to produce 450 coaches per year in a couple of years. Further, we will be continuously working on increasing the indigenous content and have set up a state-of-the-art facility for manufacturing traction motors, traction converters etc.”
Mr JP Chowdhary, Executive Chairman observed, “We at Titagarh are committed to our Prime Minister’s vision and dream of making India truly Atma Nirbhar and will continue to tirelessly work towards this path of nation's development.”
