The country’s biggest car maker Maruti Suzuki India Ltd, to transmit one-third of its production by rail have gotten fixed as Haryana State Industrial and Infrastructure Development Corp. Ltd (HSIIDC) hasn’t capable to obtain the land needed to put down dedicated tracks from Patli station in Manesar to the company’s plant 18km away.
The compact, intense on dropping its trust on road transport as output is set to rise to three million units a year in the next three-four years, is pushing Indian Railways to set up an option. Besides saving on expenses, wear and tear, transporting vehicles by rail divides the transit time.
Maruti Suzuki official said that the Maruti alone will be developing three million automobiles by 2015-16 and all these automobiles cannot go by road. So a practical option is required.
M.M. Singh, chief operating officer (production) at Maruti Suzuki said that besides ground achievement problems, there is also a question on whether the project should be dedicated wholly to Maruti or be thrown open to other companies. Singh also heads a team of professionals from the automobile industry looking for to increase teamwork with the railways. “Initially, the plan was to get the railway line to Manesar as we plan to move 35% of our total production through (the) railways,” he said.
Maruti, which has industrial unit in Gurgaon and nearby Manesar, now transfers 5% of its production by rail. The quantity of cars that it sends by rail is controlled by the lack of services.
