By Shailesh Yadav

Manesar (Haryana) [India], June 17 (ANI): Maruti Suzuki's new railway siding at its Manesar plant will eliminate approximately 65,000 truck trips annually, translating to 232 fewer truck journeys per day based on 280 working days, Senior Executive Director, Corporate Affairs, Rahul Bharti announced on Tuesday.

Speaking to ANI at the Manesar facility, Bharti highlighted that the railway terminal will dispatch seven popular models including Celerio, WagonR, SPresso, Dzire, Brezza, Ertiga and XL6, while export vehicles will be transported to Pipavav and Mundra ports through the new facility.

The Manesar railway siding represents India's largest automobile GatiShakti Multi-Modal Cargo Terminal, capable of dispatching 450,000 vehicles annually at full capacity. Spread across 46 acres within the Manesar facility, the terminal features a fully electrified 8.2-kilometer corridor with four full-length tracks plus one engine escape track, a two-floor station building, and comprehensive support infrastructure.

The project, executed through a joint venture with Haryana Orbital Rail Corporation Ltd (HORCL) at a total cost of Rs 1,170.91 crore, marks the company's second such facility following the Gujarat plant's inaugural railway siding.

Maruti Suzuki's green logistics transformation has been remarkable since FY 2014-15, with railway dispatches growing nearly eight-fold from 5 per cent to 24.3 per cent of total vehicle dispatches in FY 2024-25.

The company dispatched a record 5.18 lakh vehicles through railways last fiscal year, contributing to a cumulative 25 lakh vehicles transported via rail since the initiative began.

Currently operating over 40 flexi-deck rakes with 300-vehicle capacity each, the automaker serves more than 600 cities across India through 21 distribution hubs.

The environmental impact of this logistics strategy is substantial, with the Manesar facility alone expected to avoid 175,000 tonnes of CO2 equivalent emissions and save 60 million litres of fuel annually at full capacity.

As Maruti Suzuki prepares to scale production to 4 million units by FY 2030-31, the company plans to increase railway usage to approximately 35 per cent of total dispatches over the next five to six years, reinforcing its commitment to sustainable transportation and reduced carbon footprint in the automotive sector. (ANI)