Indian Railways, which is mainly dependent on China for its forged wheel requirements, has collaborated with an Indian firm to reduce imports, officials said. According to Railways, it has been importing various types of forged wheels required for locomotives and coaching stock (LHB) since the 1960s from the UK, Czech Republic, Brazil, Romania, Japan, China, Ukraine and Russia. "During the year 2024-25, wheels worth approx Rs 900 Crore were imported from China and Russia/Ukraine and another 40,000 wheels were sourced from Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL). Currently, due to the Russia-Ukraine Crisis, the majority of the import requirement of wheels is being met from China," a release from the Railway Ministry said. The "requirement of wheels is projected to increase up to 2 lakh by 2026 onwards due to the induction of more and higher speed trains," it added. According to the ministry, the existing domestic production capacity for 2024-25 is only 75,000 wheels. Hence, it has .