Indian Railways 2.0: The Quiet Work of Indigenizing Metro and Rail Components
India isn’t just buying more trains. It’s working to stop importing the parts that go inside them.
For decades, a meaningful share of the components inside Indian Railways and Metro rail systems, traction equipment, electromechanical assemblies, tunnel ventilation systems, environment control units came from overseas suppliers. That’s changing, deliberately and at policy level, and the shift creates real opportunity for domestic fabricators who can meet the tolerance and certification bar that rail components demand.
This is the less visible side of India’s rail modernization story. The Vande Bharat headlines get attention. The work of replacing imported components with domestically manufactured equivalents gets less, but it’s where a lot of the actual industrial transformation is happening.
What “Indigenization” Actually Means Here
The Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs has identified specific categories of Metro rail components for indigenization parts of lifts, escalators, tunnel ventilation systems, environment control systems, and traction and power supply equipment among them. The goal is straightforward: reduce import dependence for mass rapid transit systems being built across Indian cities, and build domestic manufacturing capacity that can support that buildout at scale.
On the broader rail side, Indian Railways has been expanding indigenous production of LHB (Linke Hofmann Busch) coaches for years, and 2026 brought a further step: plans to manufacture 260 Vande Bharat sleeper trainsets domestically, alongside a separate initiative to begin manufacturing train wheels in India under Make in India from this year. Even niche components wheels, specifically that were historically imported are now targeted for domestic production.
This isn’t symbolic. Wheels and traction components carry tight metallurgical and dimensional specifications; building that capability domestically means the supply chain around it forgers, machinists, fabricators has to scale up to meet a standard that previously only a handful of overseas manufacturers met.
Where Component Fabrication Fits In
Indigenization at the policy level translates into very specific manufacturing demand: precision-fabricated panels, brackets, enclosures, and structural assemblies that meet railway-specific welding and material standards, sourced domestically instead of imported.
This is where certification becomes the entry ticket rather than a nice-to-have. EN 15085, the European standard for welding of railway vehicles and components, sets out the requirements a fabricator has to meet to supply welded rail components and it has multiple classification levels depending on the structural criticality of the part. Holding the highest classification under that standard is what allows a fabricator to bid on structural and safety-relevant railway work, not just decorative or non-structural components.
Rishi Laser holds EN 15085-2 CL-1 certification at its Pune facility, the highest classification level under that standard alongside ISO 9001:2015 across all seven of its plants. That combination is specifically what positions a domestic fabricator to participate in the indigenization push rather than watch it happen from the sidelines.
The Economics Driving This
Indigenization isn’t happening purely out of national preference. Imported components carry currency risk, longer lead times, and logistics costs that compound across large fleet orders. A Metro system ordering escalator components from overseas is exposed to shipping delays and exchange rate swings in a way that a domestic supplier relationship isn’t. For an industry planning multi-decade infrastructure rollouts, Metro systems are typically built out over 10 to 15 years across phases supply chain stability matters as much as unit cost.
There’s also a sustainability angle worth noting: Indian Railways prepared its first indigenously developed hydrogen-powered train for trials in late 2025, a 10-coach configuration generating 2,400 kW. Projects like that depend on a domestic component supply chain capable of meeting new specifications quickly, rather than waiting on an overseas vendor’s product roadmap.
What This Means for Fabrication Partners
For OEMs and system integrators bidding on Metro and Railways projects, the practical question is whether their fabrication partners can actually meet railway-specific welding and quality standards at the volumes these projects require. A supplier without EN 15085 certification, regardless of general manufacturing quality, isn’t eligible for the structural work the standard exists precisely to keep that bar firm.
This is also where scale matters. Indigenization at a national level isn’t served by a single project for a single client; it requires fabrication capacity that can support multiple Metro systems and rail manufacturers simultaneously, without every order becoming a bottleneck.
Rishi Laser’s Position in This Shift
Rishi Laser has supplied the Railways sector for years, and the company’s EN 15085-2 CL-1 certification at its Pune facility, combined with ISO 9001:2015 across all seven manufacturing units reflects the specific standard the indigenization push requires, not just general fabrication competence. As Metro and rail component sourcing continues shifting toward domestic suppliers, that certification is the difference between being eligible to bid and being a spectator to the policy shift.
Tunnel ventilation brackets and traction enclosures don’t make headlines the way a new high-speed train does. But this layer of manufacturing capability is what determines whether India’s rail modernization plans get built domestically, or stay dependent on the same import relationships they’re supposed to replace.
Sources:
- Metro Rail Today — Govt of India identifies indigenisation of components for metro rail projects
- News on Air — India to manufacture train wheels under Make in India from 2026
- PIB — Ministry of Railways: Year End Review 2025
- Indian Infrastructure — Future Track: Indigenisation and modernisation of Indian Railways
- Rishi Laser — About Us / Certifications
FAQ’s
It refers to replacing imported components, traction equipment, electromechanical assemblies, tunnel ventilation systems, environment control units, train wheels with domestically manufactured equivalents, as identified and pushed by Indian government policy, including the Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs for Metro components specifically.
EN 15085 is the European standard governing welding of railway vehicles and components. It has multiple classification levels based on structural criticality, and holding the highest level (CL-1) is what allows a fabricator to bid on structural and safety-relevant railway work, not just non-structural parts. Without it, a supplier isn’t eligible regardless of general manufacturing quality.
2026 brought plans to manufacture 260 Vande Bharat sleeper trainsets domestically and a separate initiative to begin manufacturing train wheels in India under Make in India. India also trialed its first indigenously developed hydrogen-powered train (a 10-coach, 2,400 kW configuration) in late 2025.
Imported components carry currency risk, longer lead times, and logistics costs that compound across large fleet orders. For Metro systems built out over 10 to 15 years across multiple phases, supply chain stability from domestic sourcing matters as much as unit cost.
Yes. Rishi Laser holds EN 15085-2 CL-1 certification, the highest classification under that standard at its Pune facility, alongside ISO 9001:2015 across all seven manufacturing units.
It affects component-level suppliers directly. Indigenization at a national scale requires fabrication capacity that supports multiple Metro systems and rail manufacturers simultaneously brackets, enclosures, and structural assemblies sourced domestically rather than a handful of finished-train contracts.
