FFG subsidiary MAG IAS GmbH (MAG) has secured a significant contract to deliver a highly automated production line for forged railway wheels to Ramkrishna Titagarh Rail Wheels Ltd (RKTR) in India. The double-digit million euro project is part of the Indian Government’s ‘Make in India’ initiative, which aims to transform the country into a globally competitive industrial hub.

The state-of-the-art system will be installed at RKTR’s Chennai facility and is designed to produce 100,000 railway wheels annually. The system is capable of manufacturing six different types of railway wheels without the need for change over. Furthermore, it is designed with future scalability in mind, allowing production capacity to double if needed. To ensure precise planning and fast commissioning, FFG created a digital twin of the system alongside extensive 3D simulations. The system’s pre-calculated energy consumption across various production scenarios supports sustainable manufacturing practices.

The system will feature MAG Hessapp VDM 1600 vertical lathes and Specht 800 horizontal machining centres. Also supplied were coolant and chip management for the entire plant, automation for both the machining and testing cells, measuring machines, a balancing station, ultrasonic testing units, and two magnetic particle inspection stations. An outstanding feature of the centrally controlled production system is monitoring of the entire system and the tracking of components.

Production is scheduled to start in Q1 2026, with the system set to manufacture and deliver a total of 1.54 million railway wheels to Indian Railways over the next 20 years. The project supports India’s expanding infrastructure and further strengthens FFG’s presence in the region.

More information www.ffg-ea.com/en