Rail coach workshop will boost industrial development in Haryana: PM

Prime Minister Narendra Modi Tuesday laid the foundation stone for a rail coach refurbishing factory, saying the project will create employment and boost industrial development in Haryana.

The Rail Coach Refurbishing and Rehabilitation Factory will be set up at a cost of Rs 500 crore at Barhi in Sonipat district.

Modi said 250 passenger train coaches will be repaired and modernised every year at the factory. There were would no need to send coaches to factories located in far-off places, he added.

With this factory, the availability of passenger coaches will also increase and people will get the benefit of comfortable coaches, he said at a public meeting in Sampla to honour peasant leader Sir Chhotu Ram with a statute erected in his memory.

The railway project in Sonipat was symbolically launched at the same meeting.

He said the factory will not only help Sonipat but provide impetus to the state's industrial growth.

Small industries will also benefit with the setting up of this factory as they will be able to supply seat covers, fans, electrical fittings, etc, he said.

The youth will get several employment opportunities, he added.

He said the coach factory will help develop special skills.

Engineers and technicians will be able to develop local expertise because of this rail coach factory.

In the coming days, these experts will be able to provide services to other parts of the country, he said.

Northern Railway said the project is expected to be commissioned in 2020-2021.

The factory, spread over 160 acres, will be scaled up progressively to deal with 1,000 coaches every year. It is envisaged to have a potential annual turnover of Rs 250 crore, the railways said.