India: The manufacturer, TRSL, has received approval from the country’s Ministry of Railways to conduct the relevant activities.
It can now establish a company that will own freight wagons and lease them for operation on India’s national rail network. The business model is said to target sectors such as metallurgy, cement and mining industries, agriculture, and energy.
TRSL is one of the largest private rolling stock manufacturers in India. The company also identifies itself as the country’s leading freight wagon builder: since late 2023, its three plants in Uttarpara, Titagarh, and Bharatpur have achieved a combined output of 1,000 freight wagons per month.
The number of wagons planned for leasing has not been disclosed. However, TRSL Vice Chairman and Managing Director Umesh Chowdhary told PTI agency of ambitions to take a leading position in the market: the need for freight wagon leasing in India is estimated at 1,500–2,000 wagons per year. This direction also aligns with the TRSL’s current goals of significantly scaling up its business.
Meanwhile, India’s freight wagon market overall is one of the most dynamic in the world. In the past financial year (April 2024 to March 2025), almost 42,000 freight wagons were produced in the country, which is 11% more than the previous year, and 2.6 times the average output over the preceding decade. Demand growth is linked to the rapid development of the rail network for both passenger and freight transport needs. According to India’s Ministry of Railways, last financial year’s loading on the country’s network totalled 1.6 bln tonnes, nearly a third higher than in the early 2020s.
The practice of wagon manufacturers establishing leasing subsidiaries is common, with US firms Trinity Rail and Greenbrier taken as benchmark examples. Trinity Rail owns and manages more than 140,000 wagons, offered to the market on various terms. The company reports that its leasing segment generated $1.2 bln in revenue in 2025 (+6%), while wagon manufacturing brought in $1.4 bln (-42%). Greenbrier, in turn, leases around 17,000 wagons in North America. The company’s revenue from this activity last year was $249 mln (+7%), from wagon manufacturing $3 bln (-10%).
