Union Railway Minister, Ashwini Vaishnaw on Tuesday inaugurated the country’s largest in-plant automobile rail siding at Maruti Suzuki India’s Manesar facility in Haryana. The Gati Shakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal (MMCT), spread across 45 acres, is designed to dispatch up to 4.5 lakh vehicles annually and will significantly cut road congestion, emissions, and operational costs in the automotive supply chain.
The in-plant siding connects Maruti’s manufacturing facility to Patli railway station via a 10-km dedicated rail link, developed under the ₹800 crore Haryana Orbital Rail Corridor (HORC). The corridor, executed by the Haryana Rail Infrastructure Development Corporation (HRIDC), is aimed at decongesting Delhi’s rail network by diverting non-Delhi-bound traffic. The facility further integrates into a broader push for multimodal transport corridors, aligning with the national vision of reducing road dependency, enhancing supply chain agility, and cutting fossil fuel reliance.
Officials confirmed that the new siding is expected to eliminate approximately 65,000 truck trips each year, saving around 60 million litres of fuel and reducing 1.75 lakh tonnes of CO2 emissions at full capacity. This marks a critical step toward India’s Net Zero 2070 target and represents a strong industry-government collaboration under the Gati Shakti National Master Plan. Unlike earlier practices where vehicles had to be trucked to distant railheads such as Farukhnagar or Gurugram, the Manesar in-plant facility allows for direct loading at source.
As of 2024–25, Indian Railways has crossed 1 million units in annual car loadings, with the rail coefficient rising sharply from just 1.2% in 2013–14 to 20.6%. Of the 50.61 lakh vehicles produced this fiscal, 10.41 lakh were transported by rail, and Maruti Suzuki alone accounts for nearly half of all such consignments.
Maruti Suzuki’s Managing Director and CEO, Hisashi Takeuchi, highlighted that the project aligns with the company’s long-term sustainability roadmap. “We aim to increase our share of vehicle dispatches by rail to 35% by FY 2030–31. This siding helps us cut emissions and road usage while optimising costs and delivery timelines.”
The facility further integrates into a broader push for multimodal transport corridors, aligning with the national vision of reducing road dependency, enhancing supply chain agility, and cutting fossil fuel reliance. As India scales up its EV and green manufacturing ecosystems, such logistics reforms will play a key role in lowering embedded carbon and boosting global competitiveness.
