India’s Biggest Auto Cargo Hub! Ashwini Vaishnaw Flags Off Maruti Suzuki's 46-Acre Facility To Ship 4.5 Lakh Cars To 380 Cities

Union Minister for Railways, Information and Broadcasting, Electronics & Information Technology, Ashwini Vaishnaw and Hon’ble Chief Minister of Haryana, Nayab Singh Saini, today inaugurated India’s largest automobile in-plant railway siding at Maruti Suzuki India Limited’s (“MSIL”) Manesar facility.

Spread over 46 acres inside the MSIL Manesar facility, the railway siding features a fully electrified corridor having 4 full length tracks for rakes and 1 track for engine escape, totaling to 8.2 kms of track length.

The siding also includes a two-floor station building, dedicated pathway for guards and drivers along the tracks, advanced electronic train interlocking and more. Models manufactured at MSIL’s Gurugram and Manesar facilities will be dispatched to 17 hubs from this railway siding serving 380 cities across India.

Furthermore, port locations of Mundra and Pipavav, used by the Company for exports, will also be served. The railway siding will have a dispatch capability of 450,000 vehicles at full capacity.
MSIL has dispatched 2.5 million (25 lakh) vehicles cumulatively through railways since FY 2014-15.

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The Manesar railway siding, registered under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, has been developed as part of the 126 Km Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC) running from Sonipat to Palwal in the state of Haryana. The project has been executed by a joint venture company called Haryana Orbital Rail Corporation Ltd (HORCL).

Under the joint venture, MSIL has committed to invest Rs 3,250 million (325 crore) in developing HORC. Additionally, MSIL has invested about Rs 1,270 million (127 crore) towards internal yard development. Overall, MSIL’s total investment is about Rs 4,520 million (452 crore).

Addressing the gathering, Vaishnaw highlighted the significant transformation Indian Railways has undergone over the past decade. “Before 2014, the Railways' annual budget hovered around ₹24,000–25,000 crore, Now, it has been increased to Rs 2.5 Lakh Crore. Basic passenger amenities like toilets were absent in many stations and coaches. In the last two and a half years, a focused campaign has been launched to increase the number of general coaches. More than 1,200 General Coaches were added in just the past year,” he said.

Speaking on the occasion, Hisashi Takeuchi, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India Limited noted, “The project underscores our strong commitment to India’s Net Zero emissions target 2070. It will contribute to avoiding 175,000 tonne of CO2e emissions, saving 60 million litre of fuel annually at full capacity, and reducing road congestion. Lowering carbon emissions remains a top priority at Maruti Suzuki and we aim to achieve this, by increasing the share of vehicle dispatches through railways to 35% by FY 2030-31.”

Marruti Suzuki India Ltd expects vehicle dispatches through railways to increase to 35 per cent by 2030-31, its Managing Director and CEO Hisashi Takeuchi said on Tuesday.

The company, has increased vehicle dispatches through railways, from just around 5 per cent in FY 2014-15 to 24 per cent last year, he said while addressing the event here.