The Hindu Business Line : SAIL supplies wheels to Rlys ahead of schedule

Steel Authority of India Ltd (SAIL) has said its Durgapur plant has started supplying locomotive wheels to the Indian Railways six months in advance of the scheduled despatch.

The company, earlier in May this year, had received an order to supply 120 `S-shaped wheels' from the Indian Railways, SAIL said in a release on Friday. All ordered wheels have been manufactured and despatches to the Railways' Diesel Locomotive Works (DLW), Varanasi will be completed within this month.

The Railways has so far been importing these wheels from Japan and the Czech Republic, the release said.

"The Railways required this item very urgently to keep its Electro Mechanical Diesel (EMD) fleet running," the release added. DLW has acknowledged the efforts undertaken by DSP's Wheel and Axle Plant to satisfy their customer's requirements, a SAIL statement said.

The `S'-shaped web plate heat resistant high axle load rolled wheel for broad-gauge locomotives developed by DSP's Wheel and Axle Plant is capable of withstanding higher brake heat loads and heavy axle loads. The new design will permit an additional 3-5 months wheel-life for locos. DSP manufactured 44 prototype S-shaped wheels and supplied to South Eastern Railway for trial fitment in locomotives in April 2004. The performance of wheels fitted in the locomotives was found to be satisfactory.

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