Maruti to set up in-plant rly siding at Kharkhoda facility in 3-4 years

The Manesar rail facility will cut emissions and aid exports, while a similar siding is planned at Kharkhoda within 3-4 years as part of MSIL's green logistics push

After establishing railway lines at two of its existing plants in India, Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) now plans to set up a similar facility at its new plant in Kharkhoda

 

within the next 3-4 years, the company’s Senior Executive Director (Corporate Affairs) Rahul Bharti said on Tuesday.

 

He was speaking to reporters at MSIL’s Manesar facility, after Railway Minister Ashwini Vaishnaw and Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini jointly inaugurated a new railway line inside the plant on Tuesday.

 

The newly inaugurated in-plant railway siding at Manesar is India’s largest such facility in the automobile sector and is part of the 126-km Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC). Developed under the PM GatiShakti National Master Plan, the siding will reduce road congestion and significantly cut down on carbon emissions.

 

According to MSIL, the project will help the company avoid 175,000 tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions and save 60 million litres of fuel annually once fully operational.

 

“This will help us achieve the ideal way to transport our cars abroad, from the factory assembly line to rake to ship, with minimal handling,” said Bharti, highlighting the boost the railway siding gives to the company’s export logistics.

 

The facility has been built with a total investment of ₹452 crore. Of this, ₹325 crore has been committed by MSIL as part of its equity contribution to the Haryana Orbital Rail Corporation Ltd (HORCL) joint venture, and another ₹127 crore has gone towards developing the internal yard. Spread over 46 acres inside the Manesar facility, the fully electrified railway corridor includes five lines with a total track length of 8.2 km.

 

The dispatch capacity of the railway siding is 450,000 units per annum, half of Manesar plant’s total production capacity of 900,000 units. The railway siding connects to 17 logistics hubs across India, linking 380 cities, and also facilitates shipments to ports like Mundra and Pipavav for exports. “In Manesar, we have set up five railway lines. This in-plant siding will allow us to focus a lot more on exports,” Bharti said.

 

At present, rail transport is more viable than trucks only for distances beyond 500 km, but Bharti noted that this could change. “Rail transport can become viable even for shorter distances if we can add more rakes,” he added.

 

MSIL had commissioned its first in-plant railway siding in March 2024 at its Gujarat facility in Hansalpur, with an annual dispatch capacity of 300,000 units. The Gujarat plant has an annual production capacity of 750,000 units.

 

Speaking about MSIL’s newest plant, Bharti confirmed that a similar railway facility is being planned. “We will establish an in-plant railway siding at our new plant in Kharkhoda in about 3–4 years. It is too early to say what would be the dispatching capacity of the railway siding at the Kharkhoda plant,” he said. The plant, which started operations in February, currently has a production capacity of 250,000 units per year.

 

MSIL currently operates four manufacturing plants- in Gurugram, Manesar, Hansalpur (Gujarat), and Kharkhoda.

 

The Manesar project is part of the larger 126-km HORC, which connects Sonepat to Palwal via Kharkhoda, Patli, Manesar, and Sohna. The corridor is being built by Haryana Orbital Rail Corporation Ltd (HORCL), a joint venture between Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (HRIDC), Haryana State Industrial & Infrastructure Development Corporation (HSIIDC), Gurugram Metropolitan Development Authority (GMDA), Allcargo Logistics, and Maruti Suzuki. The project has a total cost of ₹11,709 crore, and MSIL holds a 13 per cent equity stake in the joint venture.

 

In the first phase, a 5.7-km track connecting Patli to Manesar station has been constructed, along with an additional 1.2-km stretch connecting Manesar station to MSIL’s facility boundary.

 

“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 per cent by FY30–31,” said Hisashi Takeuchi, managing director & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India. Currently, about 25 per cent of the company's cars are transported via railways.