Maruti Suzuki's in-plant railway siding, India's first such project, inaugurated by PM Modi in Gujarat
in-plant railway siding project (of Maruti Suzuki) was inaugurated by PM Modi in Gujarat on March 12. The project is at Hansalpur in Gujarat's Mehsana district. Modi inaugurated it virtually from a function in Ahmedabad.
Modi also inaugurated and laid the foundation stone of Rs 85,000 crore railway projects, including the launch of 10 new Vande Bharat trains, from Sabarmati area of Ahmedabad. He also visited the Dedicated Freight Corridor's (DFC) Operation Control Centre.
The project is under PM Gati Shakti mission, in collaboration with the Gujarat government, Indian Railways, and MSIL. The cost of the project is Rs 976 crore. This is the first time in India that an automobile company has established an in-plant railway siding, Rahul Bharti, MSIL's Executive Officer for Corporate Affairs, said.
The project was undertaken by Bahucharaji Rail Corporation Limited (BRCL), a special purpose vehicle formed with the participation of Gujarat Railway Infrastructure Development Corporation (GRIDE), Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), and MSIL, with equities of 49%, 29%, and 26% respectively.
Notably, GRIDE is a joint venture between the Gujarat government and the Ministry of Railways. The railway line within the Bahucharaji plant was constructed solely by Maruti Suzuki, costing Rs 105 crore.
Under the project, Maruti will increase the use of railways for dispatching finished cars from 26% to 40% annually, saving 50,000 truck trips, 35 million litres of fuel, and cutting down on 1,650 tonnes of carbon
