Maruti opens India's largest automobile in-plant railway siding

The railway siding will have a dispatch capability of 450,000 vehicles at full capacity.

Maruti Suzuki has opened what is said to be India’s largest automobile in-plant railway siding at its Manesar plant. It was inaugurated by Ashwini Vaishnaw, Minister for Railways, and Nayab Singh Saini, Chief Minister of Haryana.

The Manesar railway siding has been developed as part of the 126 km Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC) running from Sonipat to Palwal. Maruti Suzuki has invested Rs 452 crore in the project, which includes Rs 325 crore towards HORC and Rs 127 crore, which has gone into the development of the internal yard.

The railway siding at Manesar features a fully electrified corridor having 4 full-length tracks for rakes and 1 track for engine escape, with a total track length of 8.2 km. The siding also includes a two-floor station building, a dedicated pathway for guards and drivers along the tracks, advanced electronic train interlocking and more.

Vehicles manufactured at Maruti’s Gurgaon and Manesar plants will be dispatched to 17 hubs from this railway siding. It will also serve the Mundra and Pipavav ports.

The railway siding will have a dispatch capability of 450,000 vehicles at full capacity. It is expected to avoid 1,75,000 tonnes of CO2 emissions and save 60 million litres of fuel annually.

Since FY2014-15, Maruti Suzuki has dispatched 25 lakh vehicles cumulatively through railways.