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. Rahul Bharti, MSIL’s Executive Officer for Corporate Affairs, said that this is the first time in India that an automobile company has established an in-plant railway siding.
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 emissions per year.This move will contribute to reducing the company’s carbon footprint and promoting sustainable practices in the automobile industry, a company spokesperson said.The railway siding can dispatch 300,000 cars per year, with a current parking capacity of 800 cars that can be expanded to 3,000 cars. Up until February, Maruti Suzuki has already sent approximately 1.8 million cars by railway.
This shift to rail transportation has the potential to alleviate traffic and streamline the movement of goods, the spokesperson added.