Jupiter Wagons Limited, one of India’s leading railway rolling stock manufacturers, has joined hands with Italy’s Lucchini RS and SIMEST to establish the country’s first fully integrated private-sector platform for manufacturing rail wheels, axles and wheelsets. Under the agreement, the two Italian partners will acquire a combined 25% stake in Jupiter Tatravagonka Railwheel Factory Private Limited (JTRWF) for ₹307 crore (approximately EUR 28 million). The deal is backed by the Italian government under its Sistema Italia framework and marks a significant step in India’s push for self-reliance in critical railway components.
The Deal at a Glance
The transaction is structured under two distinct agreements. Lucchini RS Holding S.p.A., a global manufacturer of railway wheels, axles and wheelsets, will take a 15% stake in JTRWF, while SIMEST S.p.A., an Italian government-owned financing institution, will acquire an additional 10% stake. Together, the two investments give the Italian partners a combined 25% holding in the venture.
| Investor | Stake in JTRWF | Role |
|---|---|---|
| Lucchini RS Holding S.p.A. | 15% | Technology and engineering partner |
| SIMEST S.p.A. | 10% | Equity investor |
| Total | 25% | ₹307 crore (around EUR 28 million) |
The transaction enjoys the support of the Government of Italy through the Sistema Italia framework, coordinated by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs. Italy’s state development bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti (CDP) is providing financial and advisory backing to Lucchini RS, and the Italian Embassy in India has also extended its support. This high-level institutional endorsement underlines the importance Rome attaches to deepening industrial cooperation with New Delhi.
Building an End-to-End Railwheel Platform
JTRWF is designed as a one-stop manufacturing platform that covers the complete production chain for railway wheels, axles and wheelsets, from raw material processing and primary metallurgy to forging, machining, assembly and finished products. The platform brings together two facilities.
The existing facility in Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar, formerly known as Aurangabad in Maharashtra, currently handles machining and wheelset assembly. This is being combined with a greenfield manufacturing complex under development in Odisha, which will add upstream capabilities such as forging, primary metallurgy and wheel manufacturing. Once the Odisha plant is fully operational, the combined platform will become India’s only fully integrated private-sector railwheel manufacturing facility covering the entire value chain.
Jupiter Wagons’ own demand for wheelsets, driven by its railway wagon manufacturing business, is expected to serve as a strong anchor customer for the venture from day one. The company has also positioned JTRWF as an export platform, aiming to integrate India more deeply into global railway supply chains.
Who Are the Italian Partners?
Lucchini RS
Lucchini RS Holding S.p.A. is one of the world’s leading manufacturers of railway wheels, axles and wheelsets, along with forgings and steel castings. The company’s main production site at Lovere, on the shores of Lake Iseo in northern Italy, dates back to 1856, and the plant began manufacturing railway wheels in 1907. Today it remains one of the few producers of forged railway wheels in Europe and is recognised globally for its advanced metallurgy and specialised steel grades.
Under the partnership, Lucchini RS will transfer advanced technology, engineering expertise and industrial support to JTRWF during the development, industrialisation and commissioning of the platform. The two companies will also collaborate on product development and on expanding JTRWF’s presence in both Indian and international markets. The firm is led by Chairman Giuseppe Lucchini.
SIMEST
SIMEST S.p.A., short for Società Italiana per le Imprese all’Estero, or the Italian Society for Enterprises Abroad, is the development finance institution of the Italian government. It was established in 1991 and is headquartered in Rome. SIMEST is part of the CDP Group, with the state-backed bank Cassa Depositi e Prestiti holding about 76% of the company, and it operates under the supervision of the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
SIMEST supports Italian businesses expanding into foreign markets through equity investments, subsidised loans and export credit assistance. Its participation in this deal as an equity investor reflects growing Italian confidence in India’s railway manufacturing sector and provides a state-backed stamp of approval for the venture.
Why This Deal Matters for India
Jupiter Wagons and the Rail Manufacturing Ecosystem
Jupiter Wagons Limited (JWL) is one of India’s largest private manufacturers of railway freight wagons, passenger coaches and wagon components. Headquartered in Kolkata, the company was incorporated in 1979 and operated for decades under its old name, Commercial Engineers and Body Builders Company (CEBBCO), before being renamed Jupiter Wagons in 2022. It is led by Managing Director Vivek Lohia.
The company has been steadily building a vertically integrated railway components business. In recent years it has acquired rail-related assets, formed joint ventures with European firms for braking systems and forged crossing components, and secured a long-term export contract to supply railway wheelsets to Slovakia-based wagon maker Tatravagonka a.s. The new Odisha plant is expected to produce around 1 lakh wheelsets annually, with a large share meant for European export markets.
Reducing Dependence on Imported Wheelsets
Railway wheels, axles and wheelsets are safety-critical components that must withstand enormous stress, temperature changes and repeated braking over long distances. Manufacturing them requires advanced metallurgy and precision forging, which is why only a handful of producers worldwide can supply them at scale.
For decades, India has depended on imports of forged wheels and wheelsets, mainly from countries such as China, Ukraine and Russia. This dependence has periodically created supply bottlenecks, and the experience of disrupted global supply chains has reinforced the strategic case for domestic manufacturing. Indian Railways produces a large share of its own wheels through the state-owned Rail Wheel Factory (RWF) at Yelahanka, Bengaluru, established in 1984, and the Rail Wheel Plant at Bela in Bihar, which supplies cast wheels. A private, fully integrated platform like JTRWF complements these public units and widens the domestic supply base for the growing fleet of Vande Bharat trains, metro networks, freight wagons and proposed high-speed rail corridors.
India-Italy Ties at the Foreground
The partnership is also significant in the context of rapidly warming India-Italy relations. The two countries upgraded their ties to a Special Strategic Partnership during Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s visit to Rome in May 2026, building on the Strategic Partnership announced in 2023. Both sides have set an ambitious target of taking bilateral trade to EUR 20 billion by 2029, and Italy has emerged as one of India’s largest trading partners within the European Union.
Italy has also joined initiatives such as the India-Middle East-Europe Economic Corridor (IMEEC) and the International Solar Alliance, while defence and manufacturing cooperation has expanded through co-production projects. The Jupiter Wagons-Lucchini RS deal fits squarely into this broader pattern, with Rome supporting Italian companies that seek to build long-term manufacturing and supply-chain linkages with India.
The Way Forward
The Odisha facility is expected to begin commercial production by late 2027, and its full capacity will take time to ramp up. For JTRWF to deliver on its promise, it will need to win orders not just from Jupiter Wagons itself and Indian Railways, but also from global operators. The decade-long supply agreement with Tatravagonka provides a strong initial export pipeline, and the technology transfer from Lucchini RS will help Indian engineers master the exacting standards of forged wheel production.
If executed well, the platform could turn India from a net importer of wheelsets into a credible exporter, reduce foreign exchange outflow and strengthen supply-chain security for one of the world’s largest railway networks. It also demonstrates that global manufacturers increasingly see India as a competitive production base for high-value railway components, a trend that aligns with the broader push for manufacturing self-reliance.
Key Takeaways
- Jupiter Wagons Limited (JWL) has partnered with Italy’s Lucchini RS and SIMEST to set up India’s first fully integrated private-sector railwheel manufacturing platform.
- The venture, Jupiter Tatravagonka Railwheel Factory Private Limited (JTRWF), will manufacture railway wheels, axles and wheelsets across the complete value chain.
- Lucchini RS will take a 15% stake and SIMEST a 10% stake, together investing ₹307 crore (around EUR 28 million) for a combined 25% holding in JTRWF.
- The platform combines JWL’s existing machining and wheelset facility at Chhatrapati Sambhajinagar (formerly Aurangabad, Maharashtra) with a greenfield plant in Odisha that will add forging, metallurgy and wheel manufacturing.
- SIMEST, the Italian government’s development finance institution, was founded in 1991, is headquartered in Rome, and is part of the CDP Group.
- Lucchini RS, headquartered in Brescia, Italy, has produced railway wheels since 1907 and will transfer forging technology and engineering expertise to the Indian platform.
