A Decade in Motion

Is North India's only Rail Wheel Plant marred by an uncertain Future?

Rushika Mishra

My heart beats with a rhythmic clatter as the morning sun peaks over the horizon, casting a golden glow across my steel skin. The whirring sound of my life has been constant, a rhythmic hum echoing through my veins every day.

I hold steady, my pulse matching the beat of machinery hard at work. The smell of iron fills my lungs, and the warmth of the forge keeps me going through every moment.

I am Bela Rail's wheel plant! I am old yet I am young. I’ve been around for a decade, which, in the grand scheme of things, isn’t that long. But it feels like a lifetime.

Over the years, I've seen many things change around me. People come and go, technology advance, and the world outside seems to move at a pace faster than my assembly line. I hear whispers about my future, questions about my purpose and whether I'll still stand strong in the years to come.

I've witnessed the journey of my construction and creation from the mere idea of a rail wheel plant to a fully operational production unit. Do you want to know it?

This is the outline Map of the Bela wheel plant which shows its structure.

This is the most important part of factory where most of the wheel making process is done. It has Mould Shop, wheel processing shop, wheel dispatch area, sand plant, Melt stores etc..

This is the land fill area and waste processing unit.

This is the Administrative building - office of the Bela Workshop.

This map gives the outline and geographical location of Bela Rail wheel plant and its nearby surroundings.

Inside the Bela Rail wheel plant- How are train wheels manufactured?

Wheel Production at Bela Plant

TYPES OF WHEELS PRODUCED AT BELA

BOXN WHEELS

This is used for Wagons. BOXN is the first type of wheel produced at Bela Plant as it dispatched the first lot of BOX-N wheels on 7th February 2013. Bela’s production unit commenced with the BOXN wheels since August 2014.

BGC WHEELS

BGC wheels are used for Coaches. Bela plant began casting BGC wheels on 2nd September 2016 which is used in ICF coaches.

EMU WHEELS

The production of EMU (Electric Multiple unit) wheels began on 14th November 2023, with the first lot dispatched on 11th December 2023. It uses electricity as a motive power.

BLC WHEELS

Production of third product BLC wheels- for container wagon started from 03.07.2023 and first lot of BLC wheels dispatched on dated 25.07.2023.

Wheels of Indian Railways

Railroad wheels are mostly of two types: Cast and roll-forged. One may enter into a sophisticated engineering discussion and argue that forged wheels, with their metallurgy and impact strength, are more suited for trains, especially at greater speeds. Perhaps true, but it is not so simple.

India began manufacturing wheels decades ago, with Durgapur Steel Plant (DSP) inventing forged wheels for locomotives and coaches and Rail Wheel Factory, Bangalore (RWF) beginning with cast wheels for freight wagons. RWF functioned and continues to function effectively, but another Plant, Rail Wheel facility Bela, was established in Bihar as demand for freight wheels increased.

The technology used is similar to the Giffin technology, which utilizes high-quality scrap from Indian Railways to manufacture cast wheels. Scrap wheels, axles, and rails are collected, cut into suitable pieces, and fed into three 25-ton electric arc furnaces for melting.

Despite challenges, such as the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Bela persevered, tapping a record 1882 heats and casting 49083 wheels in Financial Year 2022-23.

The production of RWP Bela surged almost 70 percent in the financial year 23-24 as compared to previous financial year.

Let’s look at the Year-wise production of wheels at Bela Plant

Listen Below - Ashok Misra who is a senior Mechanical officer at Indian railways.

“Workers are the biggest asset that we have.”

Work life at Bela

Sanction strength, sanctioned by Railway Board for Rail Wheel Plant, Bela stands at 1006 workers out of which there are 926 men-on-roll and apart from this 32 officers Gaz A&B categories.

Rail Wheel Plant, Bela a independent Production Unit & Gazette announced in august-2014 and working for 6-days in a week (working week).

There are primarily two types of workers(employees) engaged at RWP/Bela

(i) Ministerial Staff

(ii) Non-Ministerial Staff (Technical staff).

(i) Ministerial Staff- These are the member of the workforce who are not directly involved with the production of the Wheels at RWP but rather in the supporting role and managing the day to day working of the plant, overseeing, communicating with other Railways, contractors, Railway Board etc. There are approximately 200 non-ministerial staff members present at RWP/Bela.

The working hours of the Ministerial staff are as follows-

MON-FRI- 09:30AM to 05:00PM

SAT-09:30AM to 02:30PM

SUN- OFF

(ii) Non-Ministerial Staff (Technical)- These people are directly involved in the production of wheels at Rail Wheel Plant, Bela, their jobs include Melting of scrap, Pouring, wheel casting, cutting, maintenance of equipment, storage of various items essential for the working of the plant, loading-unloading of wheels or raw-material etc.

Bela Plant is one of those plants where a no single major hazard happened to any worker in the production of wheels.

“There has been small cuts while working but no big hazard or health issue ever happened to us.” Says Sanjay who works at Bela production plant.

“First from the health, we have polyclinic here in the staff colony we have polyclinic, we have doctors, three full time doctors, two contractual doctors other than that there is a team. Besides that Railway RWP Bela also has agreements and arrangements with private sector hospitals in Delhi and Patna for treatment of staff and the officers and their families. So, as far as the safety is concerned safety is our top priority.”

Rail Wheel Plant Bela is a production unit of Indian Railways and by standards of other production units it is a very small unit. But still thousands of workers from the villages and small towns come here for work.

Rail Wheel Plant Bela is not only giving opportunity to local people to associate with it through regular job but also through contractual jobs. Lot of activities in the plant are outsourced which are being done by the agencies which are situated in nearby area.

Other than that, It is a remote village area, where there are no students studying. There is a central school, that's it. There is nothing else around.
So, most of the people have to go to Patna to teach their children. It takes them an hour and a half to up and down. This is the disadvantage for the workers of being remote.
Those whose children are going to study or their wives are in a job, they also have to go to Patna. There is a very limited option to stay here.

There is much more difference in the working conditions of both the rail wheel factory at Yelahanka and Rail wheel plant at Bela.

“Sometimes, lack of workers in the factory becomes an issue. It makes work difficult as lack of man force results in more pressure on the limited workers present at the plant”

Chandan
He is associated with electrical maintenance work in Mould room area since 2015

Location becomes very important when it comes to the working conditions of workers. And both the factories of rail wheel in Indian in the north and south are very different.

Before knowing the difference between the two rail wheel plants at Bangalore and Bela in terms of Geography and workforce, Let’s see how the very first Rail wheel factory of the country was established in Karnataka.

Rail Wheel Factory (Formerly known as Wheel and Axle Plant) is situated in Bangalore, Karnataka, India. It is a state-of-the-art plant, meeting bulk of the requirement of wheels, axles and wheel sets for the Indian Railways.

Till early 1980s Indian Railways was importing about 55% of requirement of wheels and axles. Indigenous capacity was available only at Tata Iron & Steel Company [TISCO] and Durgapur Steel Plant [DSP]. The TISCO plant was technically not capable of meeting the changing requirement of wheels and axles for the new designs of rolling stock and production was discontinued. DSP was only able to partially meet Indian Railways’ needs.

The cost of imports was high with prices rising in the world market. Financing of imports, delays in supplies and limited availability of foreign exchange adversely affected wagon production and rolling stock maintenance

It was in this context that in the early 1970s the Railway Ministry felt the necessity for setting up a new specialized Production Unit for manufacture of rolling stock wheels and axles as import substitute. The ultimate objective was that DSP and the Rail Wheel Factory [RWF, formerly Wheel and Axle Plant] should be able to totally meet Indian Railways requirement for standard wheels and axles so that their import could be stopped.

The cast wheel technology developed by M/S Griffin Wheel CO., USA for wheel manufacture was adopted.

It was renamed as Rail wheel factory on 15th February, 2003.

Yelahanka Rail wheel Plant was the first to rail wheel manufacturing plant in the country and Bela was established without in any foreign collaboration. Both these factories adds up to the development of Indian railways.

Bela Rail Wheel Factory stand in the rolling fields of rural Bihar, a newcomer in the age-old game of making railway wheels. Bela plant, unlike its counterpart in Bangalore, which was founded decades ago amid grand plans and government patronage, is still finding its footing in this intricate dance of industry and innovation.

Bela's scorching summers and harsh winters pose a challenge to the workforce, testing their resilience against the elements. While the counterparts in Bangalore enjoy a more moderate favourable climate that is neither too hot nor too cold, workers here suffer harsh summers and extremely chilly winters.

Unlike the bustling streets of Bangalore, with its towering IT hubs and thriving economy, It remain nestled in the quietude of rural Bihar. The nearest city, Patna, lies 30 kilometres away, a distant beacon of urban life. Some of the workers make the arduous journey from Patna daily, torn between duty and family, as they strive to provide for their loved ones in the face of limited opportunities closer to home..

“Even though we live near this plant, there are very less schools and markets. There is a Kendriya Vidhayala. My son doesn’t go to school for now. He lives with us. I earn Rs 25,000 per month and have a family of 5. We have to travel to Patna for most of our needs. City is far from us. Most of my colleagues come from Hajipur, Sonpur and Patna. Very less of them live nearby in the staff colony. ” Says Kunal, a contractual worker at Bela Plant.

Every Disadvantage has its own Advantage. Bela has advantage of Land, manpower and water with the disadvantages of water logging in the rainy season and being in middle of the villages, away from the city.”
Ambesh Tripathi- DY Mechanical officer- Railway workshop, Bela Plant

Introduction of Vande Bharat and LHB coaches and Wheels

Is there a danger to the Traditional wheels?

Are Wheels of Vande Bharat and LHB imported?

LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) coaches are a modern and advanced kind of rail car used in the Indian Railways. They were created in Germany before they were introduced to India in 2000. These coaches provide passengers with increased safety, comfort, and efficiency due to their lightweight stainless-steel structure, upgraded suspension system, and accessible features.LHB coaches have advanced safety features to reduce accidents and save lives.

Forged wheels are used in these LHB coaches.

The Vande Bharat Express is a semi-high-speed train service operated by Indian Railways. Similar to the famous Shatabdi Express, this train conveniently links several cities across India at a speed of 130 km/hr. It is a reserved, air-conditioned chair car service that connects cities that are fewer than 800 kilometres (500 miles) apart or take less than 10 hours to reach using existing services. The train commenced commercial operation on February 15, 2019.

Vande Bharat uses forged wheels.

Even while around 80 to 90 percent of VB trains are indigenous, items like as forged wheels are still imported. The forged wheels were being imported from Ukraine and China.

Coach: The trainsets are self-propelled Electric Multiple Units (EMUs) with eight to sixteen coaches.

The SAIL Durgapur Steel Plant has already produced forged wheels for the Railways' LHB coaches, but still most of the LHB wheels are imported from foreign countries.

Coach: Its coaches are manufactured by rail coach manufacturing companies in Kapurthala, Chennai, and Raebareli. They have been in use since 2000 on the 1,676 mm (5 ft 6 in) wide gaugenetwork of Indian railways.

Now the main question arise that: With the demands of new types of forged wheels with the demand of more Vande bharat and LHB coaches, will Bela plant have any impact?

Listen Mr Ashok Misra speak about the future of Bela plant below.

Future Ahead

LHB coaches are being made in India. Durgapur Steel Plant is making some for LHB. But they are not able to meet the demand. Still, they have to import for LHB. The wheels of Vande Bharat are also being imported. A large chunk of both LHB and Vande Bharat wheels are being imported from European nations and China.

As forged wheels are bought at high cost and now as there is more demand for LHB and Vande Bharat trains, Ramkrishna Forgings and Titagarh Wagons will begin manufacture of forged wheels for Vande Bharat trains in Gummidipoondi, near Chennai.

But in all of this, the need for wagon wheels are not impacted very much by the demand of Vande Bharat and LHB coaches.

With new demands, technologies and the changing landscape of Indian railways, it is a challenge for administration for fulfil the domestic needs of the country and export for other nation to enhance the Indian economy for the future.

As the Bela Rail Wheel Plant, I am at the core of Indian Railways, witnessing the constantly changing landscape of our rail network. Despite the introduction of new technology and the increased need for new wheel types, my core production—wheels for wagons and ICF coaches (still in some demand) —is still essential. This continuous demand ensures my relevance and operational existence for several decades. Every wheel I make inspires me to be more optimistic about the future. I am convinced that I will continue to meet the requirements of Indian Railways, standing firm and resilient, driving progress and reliability for many more years to come.

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