The Prime Minister of India Narendra Modi inaugurated the country’s first automobile in-plant railway siding at Suzuki Motor Gujarat, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Maruti Suzuki India (MSIL) via video conferencing today.
As part of Prime Minister’s flagship Gati Shakti programme, the in-plant railway siding aims to reduce carbon footprint in logistics, bring down fossil fuel consumption, and reduce road congestion.
It is claimed that once fully operational, the Gujarat railway siding facility can dispatch 300,000 cars annually to 15 destinations across India.
The project is a collaboration between Gujarat Rail Infrastructure Development (G-RIDE), a Government of Gujarat and Indian Railways partnership along with Gujarat Industrial Development Corporation (GIDC), and Maruti Suzuki India.
Hisashi Takeuchi, MD & CEO, Maruti Suzuki India said, “We are honoured to be part of the Prime Minister’s ambitious Gati Shakti programme that fosters efficiencies in logistics. Today marks a significant milestone as we become India’s first automobile company to have a railway siding facility within its manufacturing plant.”
“As we gear to double our production capacity from present 2 million units per annum to 4 million units per annum by 2030-31, the dispatches of vehicles from railways too will increase multifold. This in-plant railway facility reinforces our commitment towards sustainable mobility,” added Takeuchi.
